Blending historical tragedy with a message of hope and empathy, Community’s fall play “The Diary of Anne Frank” reimagines the stage to bring audiences into Anne’s world.

The production, directed by theater teacher Ms. Cassie Adelman, runs Oct. 9–12 in the Ms. Kevin Yale Vernon Auditorium, with performances at 7:30 p.m. and a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee.

Adelman said the decision to stage “Anne Frank” came from a sense of cultural urgency.

“The more that I thought about it,” she said, “the more that it felt like a show that needed to happen now.”

Based on the real-life writings of Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager who kept a diary while hiding with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the play chronicles the daily fear, tension and fleeting moments of hope experienced inside the secret annex.

Adelman said she wanted the story’s message to extend beyond its historical setting.

“I kind of knew the message that I wanted to give with this show before I knew I wanted to give this show,—of empathy, of the fact that larger actions by people in power have a very real impact on real people,” Adelman said.

While the source material has faced challenges and bans in schools across the country, Adelman said the stage adaptation offers a vital, human connection to the text.

“We talk about why the Greeks did theater, and it was this feeling of catharsis and emotional connection with someone who’s right in front of you,” she said.

At its core, Adelman said, the play is about endurance.

“Hope is a big theme in this,” she said. “It’s a very dark story, but it really tries to end on a message of hope… seeing these people go through something—something that’s really happened, that’s really happening right now—‘real’ is a word that keeps coming up in this.”

Adelman said that performing the story on stage adds a level of immediacy and connection that reading cannot.

“Reading it and seeing it on a page versus seeing it in person just does something different to your brain,” she said.

That physical closeness is central to Community’s production. Staged in a thrust configuration, the production seats audience members directly on three sides of the stage—creating a close, emotionally charged environment. Only two narrow aisles separate viewers from the cast, giving each section a distinct vantage point.

“It gets this really claustrophobic feel,” Adelman said. “It’s a much more intimate space… which involves a lot of playing with angles, playing with furniture, lighting, sound.”

The show’s technical design incorporates recorded diary entries, wartime newsreels and historical audio, elements Adelman said “juxtapose Anne’s own story with what’s going on outside,” highlighting the contrast between personal and global experiences during World War II.

That same attention to contrast carries into the show’s visual design. Costume choices underscore the divide between confinement and freedom—those in hiding wear the same clothing throughout, while those entering and leaving the annex change costumes each time.

Beyond historical recreation, Adelman said the production’s themes resonate in today’s world.

“Finding real experiences of people being ripped from their homes or afraid to go outside because of who they are… is not hard to come by,” she said.

The department hopes to take the production to Illinois High School Theatre Fest, though Adelman called that a “knock on wood situation.”

Ticket sales have been strong, Adelman said. After reconfiguring the auditorium to add seats, she said that tickets “are still selling quickly.”

Tickets are available through GoFan.

“If one person walks out of this having a different perspective or newfound empathy, I’ll be satisfied with it,” Adelman said.