PITTSBURGH — Prime Stage Theatre’s upcoming presentation of And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank tells the poignant story of teenage Holocaust victim Anne Frank through the eyes of her close friends Eva Schloss and Ed Silverberg.
It was those friends who gave each other vital emotional support as they and their families struggled to survive during the darkest days of Nazi occupation and genocide.
Written by James Still and directed by Art DeConciliis, And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank is the third offering in Prime Stage Theatre’s “Season of Courage and Discovery” and runs Mar. 1-10 for seven shows at New Hazlett Theater.
Tickets (adult $39, artist $24, student $19) are available by calling (412) 320-4610 ext. 10 or by reserving online at https://ci.ovationtix.com/36406/production/1175928.
Ed Silverberg (1926-2015) was Anne Frank’s first boyfriend, and she wrote about him in the beginning of her now-famous journal, Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. After the war, he emigrated to Riverdale, New York, and owned a medical equipment factory.
At age 95, Eva Schloss is still actively involved in Holocaust education. Her family lived in the same Amsterdam apartment building as the Frank family; she and Anne were playmates before the German occupation.
Like the Franks, the Schloss family were also betrayed and sent to concentration camps. Only Eva and her mother survived; after the war her mother married Anne’s father, Otto Frank, and the bonds between the survivors deepened.
“People know the general story of Anne Frank and her family spending two years hiding from the Nazis,” says Prime Stage Theatre artistic director Dr. Wayne Brinda, “but this play reveals very personal viewpoints from Ed Silverberg and Eva Schloss that bring a new depth and understanding to who they were as individuals, especially Anne.”
In And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank, Sadie Karashin and Ayden Freed portray Eva Schloss and Ed Silverberg, with Colin Bozick, Jackson Frazer, Molly Frontz, Eric Leslie and Stacey Rosleck performing multiple roles.
On opening night, Sat. Mar. 2, Prime Stage holds a post-play discussion with Fr. John Neiman, a retired Catholic priest now residing in West Virginia who became a close friend of Otto Frank and his secretary, Miep Gies, the Dutch woman who found and saved Anne Frank’s actual diary.
In 1974, while a college student in Texas, Neiman wrote a letter to Otto Frank saying how much The Diary of Anne Frankhad inspired him. Frank wrote back, and the two struck up a correspondence that turned into a friendship. Neiman later went to visit Frank at his home in Switzerland.
“Otto said to me, ‘It’s wonderful that you remember my family. But if you really want to honor Anne’s memory and all the people who died in the Holocaust, you need to do what Anne wanted to do: live your life doing good for other people.’”
As a certified Holocaust educator and museum teaching fellow at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Wayne Brinda believes that mission is advanced by plays like And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank. “Through our longtime partnership with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh,” he says, “we recognize the families of survivors and survivors.”
Prime Stage has also made a special commitment to promoting accessibility for special needs audiences and is the first and only Pittsburgh theatre company to attain Certified Sensory Inclusive status through KultureCity, the nation’s leading nonprofit on sensory accessibility for those with invisible disabilities.
During the weekends of Mar. 2-3 and Mar. 9-10, families attending performances of And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank can come to Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh MuseumLab, located next to New Hazlett Theater, and see the display curated by Prime Stage’s production team for a behind-the-scenes look at how theatre sets and costumes are designed and made.
“All our Prime Stage Theatre productions emphasize the story’s connection with our audience and their lives,” notes Dr. Brinda. “Plays like And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank show how theatre can make a positive impact in our community.”
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WHAT: Prime Stage Theatre presents And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank; written by James Still, directed by Art DeConciliis
WHEN: 7 shows running Mar. 1-10, 2024
- Fri. Mar. 1 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sat. Mar. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sun. Mar. 3 at 2:30 p.m.
- Fri. Mar. 8 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sat. Mar. 9 at 2:30 p.m. (Sensory Inclusive)
- Sat. Mar. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sun. Mar. 10 at 2:30 p.m.
Special Performances:
- Preview: Fri. Mar. 1 at 7:30 p.m.(pay-what-you-can admission; special post-show discussion with Fr. John Neiman, friend of Otto Frank)
- Opening Night: Sat. Mar. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sensory Inclusive: Sat. Mar. 9 at 2:30 p.m.(pay-what-you-can admission; sponsors: Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Autism Pittsburgh)
- Audio Describe: Sun. Mar. 10 at 2:30 p.m. (sponsor: Downtown Pittsburgh Lions Club)
- ASL / Live Caption: Sun. Mar. 10 at 2:30 p.m.
Questions? Call the box office at (412) 320-4610 ext. 10
WHERE: New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh PA 15212
TICKETS: Purchase tickets here – https://ci.ovationtix.com/36406/production/1175928 (adult $39, artist $24, student $19)
MORE INFO: https://primestage.com/events/remembering-anne-frank/
* For more information on And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank please contact Connie Brinda, Prime Stage Theatre General Manager at (724) 773-0700 or cbrinda@primestage.com
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