Anne Frank’s words have challenged generations, and The Aiken Community Theatre Youth Wing will bring her story to the Amentum Center for the Performing Arts Feb. 13-15 and 20-21.
“When ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ premiered on Broadway in 1955, audiences already knew the tragic ending of Anne’s story. What they did not yet know—what each generation continues to discover anew—is why her voice still matters,” according to a news release from the Aiken Community Theatre.
Director James Raby wants to emphasize Anne’s humanity in this production.
“What makes Anne Frank’s story endure is not despair but hope. In the midst of confinement, fear, and uncertainty, Anne insists on believing in human goodness. Her famous words — ‘In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart’—are not naïve. They are an act of moral courage. To believe in goodness during dark times is itself a form of resistance,” said Raby.
But the play isn’t just about Anne.
“It is also about those who chose to help. Miep Gies and Mr. Kraler were not heroes by profession; they were ordinary citizens who refused to look away. Their quiet courage asks a timeless question: when we encounter injustice, cruelty, or untruth, do we remain silent—or do we act with decency? History does not judge only the worst offenders; it also remembers those who chose to stand by,” he said.
Anne Frank was a German-born Jewish girl whose family had moved to Amsterdam and lived in hiding for two years before they were found and taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. She and her sister, Margot, were taken to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they both died of typhus in 1945. Anne was 15.
Their parents remained at Auschwitz. Her father was the only family member to survive. Otto Frank was released when Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz.
He published her diary in June 1947.
Her “diary has long been a cornerstone of Holocaust education and moral reflection; today its lessons are urgent. Antisemitic incidents on U.S. college campuses surged sharply in recent years, becoming a focal point for national concern and debate. These trends make Anne’s personal testimony—about the cost of prejudice, the fragility of civil protections, and the moral duty to speak up—more relevant than ever,” the news release continued. ‘“The Diary of Anne Frank’ remains a vital first-person account of life under persecution.”
“As audiences watch this production, our cast invites viewers to see ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ not only as a story of the past, but as a reminder of our shared responsibility—to choose empathy over fear, truth over convenience, and courage over silence. In doing so, we honor Anne not merely by remembering her, but by living out the values her words still ask of us today,” Raby said.
Tickets are $25 for adults; $22 for students/seniors; $20 for children. Tickets are available at the box office, by calling (803) 648-1438 or online at aikencommunitytheatre.org.
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