by Jeff Moberg
***
During the next 30 minutes or so, Mr. Spinoza told us the true story of Anne Frank. He told us about World War Two and the Holocaust and how she was persecuted by the Nazi’s because she was Jewish. He told us about the millions of Jews, like her and her family and friends, who were dragged off to concentration camps--where they were starved, worked to death, tortured, and even murdered. Mr. Spinoza saw the looks on our faces. He then told us that during this horrible, awful time—arguably the darkest time in human history--she was able to maintain a positive, hopeful attitude and outlook on people and life in general.
I wasn’t sure how to feel. I was sad, horrified, inspired, and motivated all at the same time. I didn’t know how I was going to pull this off. I had no experience. No training. No idea what to do. But I did know one thing. I knew that I just had to get the part of Anne.
I looked around the room—the room full of other potential Annes. First and foremost, there was Claudia—a well-known drama geek who had taken acting classes and appeared in several professional productions in Denver. She would be tough to beat. There was Norma B—not exactly the Anne Frank type (unless Mr. Spinoza wanted Anne to be a total babe)—but serious competition none the less. Who else, I wondered as I continued to survey the rows. Then I gasped out loud. Janet J. And she had a serious look of sheer determination on her face.
Before we left, Mr. Spinoza briefly told us about all of the characters in the play. He wrote a list of their names on the board:
1.Anne Frank
2.Mr. Frank—Anne’s father
3.Mrs. Frank—Anne’s mother
4.Margot Frank—Anne’s older sister
5.Mr. Van Daan—A family friend
6.Mrs. Van Daan—his wife
7.Peter Van Daan—their son
8.Mr. Dussel—a dentist
9.Mr. Kraler—a brave Dutch man who helps them
10.Meip—a brave young woman who helps them
Mr. Spinoza explained that this play was based on a true story, about real people--who were real heroes in an incredibly tragic setting. We would all treat the play, the characters, and the subject matter with the utmost respect.
Then he told us about the kiss.
Near the end of the play, Anne and Peter, who have fallen in love, share a kiss before they are captured. There was a hush in the room and everyone—absolutely everyone—looked back at Luke. Luke was, by far, the best actor in the school, and everyone assumed he would get the part of Peter. So it was not just a question of who would kiss who in the play—but who would kiss Luke.
At first, I thought, Well it will probably be Claudia, since she is the best actress. That wouldn’t be too bad. But then I thought, No, she might make a better Mrs. Frank or Mrs. Van Daan. Then I thought, Uh-oh, what about Norma B? I definitely didn’t want Luke to kiss her. Then I saw Janet J--looking back at Luke. She was smiling. Then she winked at him.
That was it. There was only one solution to this potential firestorm of kissing. The only person in the room who could possibly play Anne Frank—and therefore kiss Luke--was me. Norma L.
37
The Importance of Being Anne
“You want to go where?” Mom was very surprised at what I had announced when she walked through the front door from work.
“The library, Mom… you know… that quiet place with all the books.”
“Very funny, Norma. I know all about the library.” She was looking at me suspiciously, wondering if I had some non-libraryish secret ulterior motive.
“I just need to do some research—and the internet is down.” Our internet connection was not very reliable. The cable company told us that the lines to our house were very old and that it was not cost effective to replace them for another year or two.
Mom was still a little suspicious. I guess that came from my recent WWWWD transgressions at school. She looked at my laptop on the kitchen table. The screen had a big, red exclamation point in the middle. A message said:
!
Page not found! Please check your connection and try again!
She tried again:
!
Page not found! Please check your connection and try again!
