Description: "March. 1973. Dear diary, I borrowed The Diary of Anne Frank from the library today, but I can’t bring myself to open it." And so begins 32 years of Carol Lempert ducking Anne’s legacy, but something keeps pulling her back. Again and again and again.

First Produced: 2011
Date Added: 12/11/2011
Content Advisory:
Keywords: Coming of age  Historical  Religion and spirituality  Art and artists  Behind the scenes  Characters are mostly young adults  Single Set  Solo Play  The Theatre  True stories  Brechtian 
1 Act, 90 Minutes
1 Female, 0 Males

From the Playwright:

I conceived of After Anne Frank in 2009 during the Jewish festival of Passover. There was intense discussion around my holiday table about the relationship between the story of the Exodus and the Holocaust.

The conversation then turned to the fact that I’d “played” many Holocaust survivors over the course of my acting career and we all realized, almost simultaneously, that this was a profound and disturbing way to make a living and that the ‘Commercialization of the Holocaust’ is a topic that should be further explored. As I began working on the play however, it took on a life of its own. I now see it as more than just a theatre piece. It's become my Tikkun Olam—the Jewish concept of healing the world.

My goal is for people to use the play as jumping off point for audience discussion and reflection.

After each performance please hold a talkback. Or in the Jewish way—a Tish. Ask the audience to share their thoughts about how Anne's story and The Actress's story impacted them.

During the Tish invite the audience to think about a person in their life who they want to reconnect with. Or need to forgive. Or want to offer forgiveness to.

I've started including a blank note card in the program that people can use to write to the person they think of a letter. The audience then becomes part of the ripple of everything that has come "after Anne Frank."

NOTE: After Anne Frank is fully protected by copyright law and is subject to royalty. All inquiries concerning production, publication, reprinting or use of this play in any form should be addressed to Rochelle at rd@indietheaternow.com.

Original Production Information

After Anne Frank premiered at the 2011 New York International Fringe Festival. It was remounted for the 2011 United Solo Festival in New York City. Both productions had the following cast and crew:

The Actress: Carol Lempert
Director: Janice L. Goldberg
Stage Manager: Jim Armstrong
Sound Designer: Craig Lenti
Lighting Designer: Robin A Paterson
Sound Operator: Matt Cabill

Review by Nicholas Linnehan

Perhaps one of the most iconic associations to the Holocaust is Anne Frank, the young girl forced into hiding with her family to escape Nazi persecution of the Jews. Carol Lempert's one-woman show After Anne Frank pays serious homage to Anne, using Anne's story as an inspiration for her own. The result is a stunning, moving, and unforgettable experience. Seeing this show has left an indelible mark on me and I am truly blessed to have been at the first performance of this masterpiece of theater.

Lempert opens the show playing a Shofar, a horn-like instrument. We soon learn that she is doing this as part of a Jewish prayer echoed on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. From that first bellow, my spirit was awakened and taken on a soulful journey of love, acceptance, and personal discovery. Lempert admits to not being a devout Jew and is herself astonished about how Anne's life has impacted her own. Lempert is an actress who has played Anne, Margot (Anne's sister), and Edith (Anne's mother) in various productions of The Diary of Anne Frank throughout her career. Her life as a Jewish actress has left Lempert wondering who she  is and what should she be doing. These questions are universal and through her struggle to find her identity, the audience ponders the same grappling questions as Lempert. Throughout her show, as cliché as it sounds, I laughed and I cried. But what's striking is not just the masterfully woven intricacies of these two women, but the humility and deep reverence that Lempert shows for Anne and other people that affected her life. Throughout her life, Lempert has been submerged in Anne's story and the Holocaust itself. Her Uncle “Bill” is a holocaust survivor. At an early age, Lempert learned about the horrors of Naziism and Anne's tragic life. She seems to never be able to distance herself from this story, despite being terrified by Anne's journal at the age of 12; most of her greatest acting credits either deal  with Anne, the Holocaust, or both.

Lempert, who wrote the piece, knows how to keep her audience engaged. She never lets things get too heavy, which might cause some people to check out. Yet she doesn't skirt around the devastating moments of her story and the Holocaust, allowing us to sit with the pain of this terrible and harrowing periods in history. Her ability to use and find comedy in this dark event is remarkable and much needed. No doubt director Janice L. Goldberg played a part in this. The two artists seem to know just how long to play each scene without letting it drag but leaving enough time to let the audience process what's being given.

Lempert is a skilled actress taking us on her journey by making us her ally and confidante, but her humanity and respect for those who paved the way for her is astonishing. She has clearly done her research and teaches the audience rare facts about her story. I learned a lot  from seeing this show. This is precisely the kind of theater the world needs right now.

One last thought, Lempert mentions her personal dilemma of possibly perpetuating “the commercialization of the Holocaust,” this seems to have a sincere heavy burdening effect on her. She also humbly admits the inadequacy she feels as an actress pretending to know the horrors of the Holocaust. But I offer this, “those who fail to remember are doomed to repeat.” So as a theater lover and a humanitarian, I hope Lempert will keep sharing her story with us and by doing so, changing people's lives through remarkable pieces of theater and thereby preventing history from repeating itself.

reviewed at the 2011 New York International Fringe Festival

Excerpt from After Anne Frank

(She crosses Centre stage. Sits at the table. As Uncle Bill. He is holding a Passover Haggadah.) The Torah refers to four sons:

(Age 12. Whispering) Mom, this is sooo boring. When are we gonna eat?

(As Uncle Bill) Four Sons. One who is wise, one who is wicked, one who is simple and one who does not know even how to ask a question. Now, what does the wise son ask?

(Age 12) Uncle Bill.

(As Uncle Bill) Little Girl.

(Age 12) Uncle Bill, what does the Torah say about the wise daughter?

(As Uncle Bill) The Wise daughter. (He laughs) The Wise daughter? She knows to be quiet.

(Age 12) But, what does the Torah say about her? Shouldn’t she get, like, a Bat Mitzvah or something if she’s smart?

(As Uncle Bill) No. Girls shouldn’t have Bat Mitzvah. Reading from Torah is obligation for man. If girl goes to Torah in place of man it shows he cannot fill his obligation. It’s, it’s, it’s immodest.

(Age 12) Immodest? What does that mean? (To Mom) I’m just asking.

(As Uncle Bill) Exactly so. Asking already is immodest.

(Age 12) But all these boys in your precious Passover Haggadah are asking.

(As Uncle Bill) If you were a boy, you would be the wicked son. And to him I would say: Had you been there, you would not have been redeemed. Now that’s it. Girls shouldn’t have Bat Mitzvahs.

(To the Audience) Girls shouldn’t have Bat Mitzvahs. (Pause as she considers the impact of this.) And that’s okay. Because 17 year old boys shouldn’t be crammed into Cattle Cars.