Sahuaro students were able to experience the courageous story of Anne Frank this past Wednesday through a play at the Arizona Theatre Company. Students from Ms. Lange’s English class, Drama and of course, The Paper Cut were able to watch performers bring Anne and her account hiding in a “secret annex” during the Nazi reign to life.

Sahuaro’s Site Council generously allocated undesignated tax credit money toward tickets and buses so that the students could attend. In total, there were 75 students who came along and everyone was booming about the play. It was described as “unique”, “impactful”,  “riveting”, “emotional” and “auspicious.” Many also thought that the characters and story in general was inspiring.

Tina Le, senior, was inspired by the characters “trying to make the best out of the worst situations.”

Colton Marasco, sophomore, was inspired by “the connections that they made together, even though they weren’t all related.”

While the play was liked by most, we were still able to acknowledge that it wasn’t perfect. Caleb Pendleton, sophomore, said, “I didn’t like the ending because I thought the soldiers would have scared the Frank family more and not just act like they knew this was going to happen.”

Sophomore Emilie Stebbins said that “the show as a whole was very good, but it seemed like there was little to no movement within a time of silence; as if the show had stopped or paused for a moment.”

I also heard a few students say that they loved all of the actors, but the one who played Anne seemed like she was a bit too happy or peppy. It was, however, largely agreed that the woman who played Mrs. Van Daan did a wonderful job at portraying her character and made the audience laugh quite a bit.

I personally loved the the way the stage was set up and how the different rooms were placed in relation to one another. It didn’t feel like a stage set-up, it actually felt like different rooms in an annex. I enjoyed that even though the entire play took place on one set, it never felt boring or overused. I think it was a wonderful experience and a good way to learn about the Holocaust era.