A Sensitive ‘Anne Frank’ in La Habra

With the discovery of her diaries after World War II and her father’s indefatigable effort to get them published, Anne Frank became an especially poignant icon of the Holocaust.

The worldwide success of “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl” testifies not just to her importance as a symbol of the 20th century’s defining catastrophe but to her significance as an expression of hope as well as despair.

The playbill for the La Habra Depot Theatre’s production of “The Diary of Anne Frank”--France Goodrich and Albert Hackett’s 1955 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, based on the book--summarizes that theme with a photo of a smiling, youthful Anne; one of her many inspiring declarations, notable for its common Jewish wisdom, serves as a caption: “What is done cannot be undone, but one can prevent it happening again.”

The production--smartly directed by Lisa Gary, ably detailed in design by John Nokes (set), Denise Crowfoot (costumes) and Richard Perkins (sound), warmly lit by Chad Brooks and sincerely performed by a largely amateur cast--is a touching revival well-suited for high-school kids and others not familiar with Anne’s story.

It tells how Anne’s father, Otto, arranged to hide his family when the Germans invaded Holland and began rounding up Jews; how the Franks took in another Jewish family; how they all managed to live for two years in a secret attic above Otto’s factory in Amsterdam; and how two Dutch non-Jews were their heroic lifeline, providing them with food and other essentials, until someone discovered their cramped hiding place and betrayed them to the Gestapo.

As Anne, 13-year-old Tiffany Ellen Solano gives a performance marked by energy and playfulness; Josh Keaton, 17, portrays the sullen Peter Van Daan--a reluctant, depressed and overprotected adolescent who eventually warms to Anne’s overtures--in a deepening performance that grows more credible as the character develops into her would-be soul-mate.

But it is Richard Comeau’s reliable portrait of Otto Frank, always sensitive and sensible, Joan Neubauer’s Yiddish-accented delineation of Mrs. Frank, Dyan Hobday’s articulate Miep Gies and Rick Shapiro’s surly-yet-befuddled Mr. Dussel (he looks at a glance like Woody Allen’s double) that take charge here.

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Today, perhaps more than ever, Anne Frank’s tragic story is a necessary reminder of the Holocaust. A touring photo exhibition, “Anne Frank in the World,” which came last year to the Newport Harbor Art Museum, is at the Fullerton Museum Center through June 2. A movie by Jon Blair, “Anne Frank Remembered,” which won the Academy Award for best documentary feature of 1995, aired recently week on television.

A revised edition of Anne Frank’s diaries also has come out with previously unpublished material, revealing an even more candid self-portrait of the precocious teenager than seen in this play. The fresh details will be incorporated into a new Broadway production of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” to be directed next season by James Lapine, according to Variety.

In the meantime, we still can enjoy the dependable Goodrich-Hackett script so sweetly mounted at the Depot. The cozy theater is itself a nice fit, making for comfortable viewing.

* “The Diary of Anne Frank,” La Habra Depot Theatre, 311 S. Euclid St. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m. Sun., 2:30 p.m. $8-$10. Ends June 15. (310) 905-9708. Running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes.

Richard Comeau: Mr. Frank

Dyan Hobday: Miep Gies

Vince Campbell: Mr. Van Daan

Norma J. Morrow: Mrs. Van Daan

Josh Keaton: Peter Van Daan

Christina Francis: Margot Frank

William R. Perry: Mr. Kraler

Joan Neubauer: Mrs. Frank

Tiffany Ellen Solano: Anne Frank

Rick Shapiro: Mr. Dussel

A La Habra Depot Theatre production of a play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, based on the book “Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl.” Producers: Denise Blackwood and Don Hockett. Directed by Lisa Gary. Set design: John Nokes. Costume design: Denise Crowfoot. Lighting design: Chad Brooks. Technical director: Steve Schiro. Sound technician: Richard Perkins. Stage manager: Michelle McDonald..