Katelyn Huff, Columnist
In November and December there was a play put on by students and staff of White River and Enumclaw High School, called the Diary of Anne Frank.
It was about a Jewish girl living in Amsterdam in World War II. She and her family went into hiding for two years. It’s a true story.
They were later caught, so Anne Frank was unfortunately one of those that died in a holocaust concentration camp. It’s a good thing she left behind her diary.
Peronally, I just saw the one with the “blue cast” and thought it was very good. They included all the important stuff like Anne’s diary (of course!), all eight of the Jews (Anne, the Van Daans, Mr.Dussel and Anne’s family) and Miep Gies, who was the lady that helped them hide above her and Mr. Frank’s (Anne’s dad) office.
She was a very important character because she risked herself so her friends could live.
The “secret annex” where they hid was also very realistic in the play. They included some of the important news from WWII, the “Secret Annex” rules they kept, such as, be quiet like a mouse and be careful if other workers are downstairs, their desires and wishes, etc.
Autumn Kelley, a junior from White River High School, was one of the girls that played Anne Frank in the play. She is a wonderful actress! She really showed Anne’s personality and emotions. It was hard to see she was just acting because she was that good!
The other cast members were wonderful actors and actresses too! I like how real life adults (some of the staff) played the adult characters because it’s more realistic and believable. I also like how the audience didn’t know exactly when they’re going to be caught in the play. They knew Anne and the others did get caught, but the timing of the end in the play wasn’t predictable. I think it was so dramatic, how they were happy and eating a treat they never got in hiding, then suddenly Nazi soldiers came barging in and took the Franks, Van Daans and Mr. Dussel away.
I really like how the cast is a mixture of two schools, WRHS and EHS, which also compete against each other in sport events. It showed that both schools can work together and be friends. We are just two different schools; we don’t need to hate each other. We can work together and if we played rivals in sports teams we should congratulate on each other’s teamwork and scores. Winning doesn’t matter. It’s the fun, teamwork and friends that matters. I felt since they did that, it shows a good example for the students and other schools. We may be two different schools, but we are God’s precious loved children, equaled and are human beings.
Katelyn Huff is a student at White River High School and attends Carbanado Community Church. She lives in Carbanado and recently moved to the area from Chillicothe, Mo. Katelyn has moebius syndrome and is hard of hearing, but communicates effectively through American Sign Language. She enjoys working with children and wants to be a writer.
