After 3 rounds of auditions, 30 potential Anne Franks, and multiple actors doing cold readings, Queensbury Theatre and L. Robert Westeen, the director of Queensbury’s upcoming production of The Diary of Anne Frank announced the role of Anne Frank was handed to Artemis-Melania Postolos. “She fit. The casting came down to not only talent, which Artemis has, but also how she would fit in with the rest of the company of actors,” Westeen stated about his final choice for Anne. “After all the actors were sent away, the production team and I sat around the casting table looking at every potential Anne’s height. Comparing five foot two inches versus five foot five inches. It came down to inches. The talent was overwhelming, but she literally had to fit just right into our story.” Rounding out the rest of the company: Ted Doolittle (Otto Frank), Karla Brandau (Edith Frank), Sommer Neugebauer (Margot Frank), Ariana Bermudez (Miep), Francisco Ramos (Peter Van Daan), Frank Mena (Mr. Kraler), Janye Anderson (Mrs. Van Daan), Steve Korbin (Mr. Van Daan), and Ron Jones (Mr. Dussel).
The production is set to officially open on Friday, May 5, 2017 at the Queensbury Theatre in the black box theatre, and run through Saturday, May 20, 2017. Queensbury and the production team have been working closely with the Holocaust Museum Houston as a educational resource, and have begun planning joint events that will be announced in the coming weeks to coincide with the opening of this special production.
An impassioned drama about the lives of eight people illegally concealed from the Nazis in a storage attic,The Diary of Anne Frank captures the claustrophobia, fear, hope, laughter, grief, and realities of their daily existence. In this powerful adaptation by Wendy Kesselman, Anne Frank confronts her rapidly changing life and the increasing horror of her time with astonishing honesty, wit, and determination. This is a new adaptation for a new generation.
"Wendy Kesselman's finely textured new DIARY tells a deeper story. A sensitive, stirring and thoroughly engaging new adaptation." —New York Newsday. "A powerful new version that moves the audience to gasp, then tears." —Associated Press.
Opening: Friday, May 5, 2017
Closing: Saturday, May 20, 2017
Performances: Thursdays at 7:30 pm; Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and one Sunday matinee on May 14, 2017 beginning at 2:00 pm.
Tickets: General Admission $28.00, Students $23.00 and Seniors $23. Group rates are available and may be arranged through the box office by calling: 713.467.4497 or you can visit queensburytheatre.org for more information.