Different play-making

And Then They Came for Me:
Remembering the World of Anne Frank
Indiana Repertory Theatre Discovery Series
Directed by Lynne Perkins
Through Oct. 29

Playwright-in-residence James Still’s And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank premiered in 1996, but this is a show that is worth re-visiting.

Rebecca Masur and Grace Morgan in the IRT production of 'And Then They Came for Me' (Anne Frank on the screen)

It is based on the stories of two of Anne Frank’s friends: Eva Geiringer and Ed Silverberg. Both are Holocaust survivors, and Still taped interviews with them about their experiences, which are integrated into the play. Though a very different approach to presenting a play, the real faces and voices of the two characters make their stories even more real, and even more horrific. The natural suspension of disbelief an audience experiences in a play is both diminished and heightened. While you are hyper aware that the actors aren’t the actual people they are portraying, at the same time, the video creates an even more intimate connection with the actors on stage.

And, being a play about the Holocaust, it is a heavy and tear-inducing production, beautifully told. Surrounded by debris, the cast — a mix of young adults and seasoned actors — accentuates the pathos of the incomprehensible atrocities inflicted upon a people, but specifically, to three 15-year-olds.
Andrew Flockhart, Nick Carpenter, Rebecca Masur and Grace Morgan, as the teens, are the center of attention here, and they more than hold their own, being in the company of Constance Macy and Jeff Keel as the adults.

Oct. 22, Eva (Geiringer) Schloss will present “An Evening with Eva Schloss” and sign Eva’s Story at 7 p.m. at Glendale Library. Oct. 23, she will lead post-show discussions after the 3 and 6 p.m. shows.

And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank continues at the Indiana Repertory Theatre Sundays through Oct. 29. 635-5252, www.indianarep.com.