Review
The stage play The Diary of Anne Frank, which made its debut at the Conejo Players Theatre last night, is not just a living testament of the horrors of the Holocaust, but a moving celebration of the human spirit. With all the barbaric and monstrous acts against humanity that took place during this period, Anne Frank's diary, on which the play is based, was one of many works of art that transcended the devastating events during World War II. The original play was written by two screenwriters, Francis Goodrich and Albert Hackett in 1955, three years after the publication of the diary. Although it was warmly received, Goodrich and Hackett's play was later criticized for sanitizing Anne's work, removing passages dealing with Anne's sexuality and her pride in her Jewishness. In 1997, Wendy Kesselman restored these elements in a revised edition that elevated it from an impassioned, but flawed "feel-good" story about survival to a highly textured, emotionally rich portrayal of a remarkable young woman and seven other refugees at the most perilous time in human history.