‘And Then They Came For Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank’ comes to Cresco

Cresco - The story of Anne Frank and her harrowing experience during the Holocaust, immortalized in her diary, is given a new telling and perspective in the production ‘And Then They Came For Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank.’

Cresco Community Theatre Productions and Lanesboro Community Theater present this traveling production, which arrives in Cresco Friday, April 13 and Saturday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. at Les Fields Scene Shop in the Cresco Theatre/Opera House.

Tickets are $10 for adults ($5 for students) and are available at CUSB Bank, Cresco Bank & Trust, and the Cresco Area Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to Cresco, the production also makes stops in Decorah, Lanesboro, Chatfield, and Rushford-Peterson,

Director Rick Nance of Cresco said ‘And Then They Came For Me’ is ‘very loosely’ based on the ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’, but tells a different story:

“The production is based on remembrances by Anne Frank’s childhood friend Eva Geiringer Schloss and Ed Silverberg,” he said. “The author did video interviews with them in the 1980s, and this production is interactive, using video and a live cast. It’s a very intense show.”

The Lanesboro Community Theater’s website summary of the show describes the production as "a multimedia account of the Holocaust as told by Anne Frank's contemporaries. Combining tapes of interviews with Anne Frank's friends who survived the Holocaust -- Ed Silverberg (formerly Helmuth 'Hello' Silberberg) and Eva Geiringer Schloss -- with live actors recreating the scenes from their lives. It is part oral history, part dramatic action, part direct address, part remembrance. This ensemble-driven production breaks new ground and has been acclaimed by audiences and critics throughout the United States.”

Nance said the live cast includes adults and teenagers from Southeast Minnesota and communities such as Harmony, Lanesboro and Rushford.

He advises the show may be too intense for young children.

“It might be too intense of difficult to understand for a student under fifth or sixth grade,” Nance cautions. “It’s not a lighthearted show.”

The production is sponsored by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Decorah; Immanuel Lutheran Church, Cresco and Jerry and Rita Dalsell, Lanesboro, Minnesota.

For more information on ‘And Then They Came For Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank’ visit the Lanesboro Community Theater website at: http://lanesborocommunitytheater.blogspot.com/.