Project Shakespeare presenting ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’

Lif Petrova as understudy for Anne Frank and Lachlan Linn-Boggs as Peter rehearsing “The Diary of Anne Frank.” STAFF PHOTO BY JESSECA TIMMONS

Deborah Shakespeare Thurber coaching the cast of Shakespeare’s “The Diary of Anne Frank” at rehearsal on Tuesday. STAFF PHOTO BY JESSECA TIMMONS

The set of “The Diary of Anne Frank” by Project Shakespeare. STAFF PHOTO BY JESSECA TIMMONS

Elise Nicklin as Margot Frank, Leila Burk as Edith Frank, Lachlan Linn-Boggs as Peter van Daan and Lif Petrova as understudy for Eleanora Kishinevsky as Anne Frank. STAFF PHOTO BY JESSECA TIMMONS

Tess Geana as Mrs. van Daan and Jem Russell as Mr. van Daan rehearsing Project Shakespeare’s “The Diary of Anne Frank.” STAFF PHOTO BY JESSECA TIMMONS

Lachlan Linn-Boggs as Peter van Daan, Tess Geana as Mrs. van Daan, and Jem Russell as Mr. van Daan in a scene from “The Diary of Anne Frank” by Project Shakespeare. STAFF PHOTO BY JESSECA TIMMONS

Lachlan Linn-Boggs as Peter van Daan, Lif Petrova as understudy in the role of Anne Frank, and Jem Russell as Mr. van Daan rehearsing for Project Shakespeare’s upcoming “The Diary of Anne Frank.” STAFF PHOTO BY JESSECA TIMMONS

Eleanora Kishinevsky as Anne Frank. COURTESY PHOTO PROJECT SHAKESPEARE

By JESSECA TIMMONS

Monadnock Legder Transcript

Published: 03-05-2025 11:32 AM

Modified: 03-05-2025 4:42 PM

Project Shakespeare will present "The Diary of Anne Frank" on Saturday, March 8, at 6 p.m. and Sunday, March 9, at 4 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 6 Payson Hill Road, Rindge.

“This play is always profound, but especially so during difficult times,” said Project Shakespeare founder and director Deborah Shakespeare Thurber. “The play is about how even when people are facing existential threats, they still have to get through their daily life – how even during a war, children still fight with their mothers, girls and boys still like one another. It’s about how you can still laugh and want to dance even when you’re just trying to survive.”

“The Diary of Anne Frank” is a based on the actual diary of Anne Frank, an adolescent Dutch Jewish girl who recorded her family’s years in hiding in Amsterdam during World War II. Eleanora Kishinevsky, who plays the lead role of Anne Frank, said she has been “poring over” Anne Frank’s diary and other books about the Holocaust in preparation for the role.

“In the beginning of the play, Anne is kind of jumpy and wild, so it’s fun to play her while everyone else is kind of serious. Later on in the play, she foes through a transformation and matures,” Kishinevsky said. “It’s an honor to play her.”

Sunday’s performance will be followed by speaker Kati Preston, a Holocaust survivor and author of the book "Holocaust to Healing: Closing the Circle." The play will be the culmination of a Project Shakespeare’s "One Play in One Week” program, in which students join together to rehearse, stage and perform a play in just one week’s time.

The cast also includes Corbin Sanders as Otto Frank, Leila Burk as Edith Frank, Elise Nicklin as Margot Frank, Margaret Bennett as Miep Geis, Lachlan Linn-Boggs as Peter van Daan, Jem Russell as Mr. van Daan, Tess Geana as Mrs. van Daan, Henry McDonald as Mr. Kraler and Ha rold McCarthy as Mr. Dussell. The Anne Ensemble includes Miranda Pipitone, Lillianna Helsel, Abigail McKibben, Amelia Rosbach and Emmy Ratcliffe.

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students 16 and under. For information and tickets, visit projectshakespeare.org.

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