The Southside Players present The Diary of Anne Frank on November 19, 20, and 21st.

Thirteen-year-old Anne Frank had been writing in her red-and-white-checkered diary for less than a month when her sister, Margot, received a call-up notice around 3 p.m. on July 5, 1942. Although the Frank family had planned to go into hiding on July 16, 1942, they decided to leave immediately so that Margot would not have to be deported to a “work camp.”

Many final arrangements needed to be made and a few extra bundles of supplies and clothes needed to be taken to the Secret Annex ahead of their arrival. They spent the afternoon packing but then had to remain quiet and seem normal around their upstairs renter until he finally went to bed. Around 11 p.m., Miep and Jan Gies arrived to take some of the packed supplies to the Secret Annex. At 5:30 a.m. on July 6, 1942, Anne Frank awoke for the last time in her bed at their apartment. The Frank family dressed in numerous layers so as to take a few extra garments with them without having to cause suspicion on the streets by carrying a suitcase. They left food on the counter, stripped the beds, and left a note giving instructions about who would take care of their cat.

Margot was the first to leave the apartment; she left on her bike. The rest of the Frank family left on foot at 7:30 a.m. Anne had been told that there was a hiding place but not its location until the day of the actual move. The Frank family arrived safely at the Secret Annex, located in Otto Frank’s business at 263 Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. Seven days later (July 13, 1942), the van Pels family (the van Daans in the published diary) arrived at the Secret Annex.

On November 16, 1942, Friedrich “Fritz” Pfeffer (called Albert Dussel in the diary) became the last one to arrive. The eight people hiding in the Secret Annex in Amsterdam never left their hiding place until the fateful day of August 4, 1944 when they were discovered and arrested. (http://history1900s.about.com/od/1940s/qt/AnneFrankHide.htm)

This year’s Fall play is The Diary of Anne Frank, a phenomenal undertaking for cast and crew alike.  The cast’s biggest obstacle is getting over the rush of emotions they have while performing. Paulina Homiak (plays Edith Frank) told Eagle Eye, “When I’m on the stage I have to try to forget that they were real or I start crying. When I start to think of the way these people, real people, had to live for two years, it is unthinkable. This show has taught me more about the terrible conditions and constant fear that the Jewish people had to go through better than any of my history classes. After every rehearsal I realize how lucky I am and that I get to live in a world where I do not have to go through what the Frank family had to.” The show debuts on Thursday November 19th 2015 at 7 P.M. and closes Saturday the 21st. Order your tickets before they sell out at: mhss.booktix.com.