As Michael Philip Davis wrapped up a stint as vocal coach with the New York State Theater Institute a couple of years ago, NYSTI founder Patricia Snyder asked him if he’d be interested in directing a show with the group.
Davis liked the idea. He asked Snyder what kind of programs NYSTI did relating to the Holocaust.
When Snyder mentioned that NYSTI had put on Yours, Anne, a musical version of the Anne Frank story, Davis’ eyes widened.
`I almost jumped out of my seat at Boston Market eating chicken,` he said.
`Oh, you know it?` Snyder asked.
In fact, Davis originated one of the roles in the show, playing Peter Van Daan in 1979. He loved the idea of being part of the production again, so he agreed to direct NYSTI’s latest version, which is being staged at Schacht Fine Arts Center on the campus of Russell Sage College in Troy through March 26.
Davis readily admits that it might seem odd to set the story of Anne Frank to music, but noted this isn’t a typical musical.
`It’s a musical drama,` he said. `It’s a real story with laughter and tragedy. The music captures the spirit just superbly.`
Frank’s story was famously told in her diary, which recounted the two years she and her family spent hiding from the Nazis in the Netherlands during World War II. Anne’s father, Otto, was the only one in the family to survive the war, and he published Anne’s diary in 1947, two years after she died at 15.
Three decades later, `Yours, Anne` was born. Librettist Enid Futterman and composer Michael Cohen were working together at an ad agency when actress and singer Andrea Marcovicci asked them to write a musical for her. When her hairstyle reminded Futterman of Frank, she and Cohen started working on a musical version of Frank’s life.
In 1975, Futterman presented the show to Otto Frank himself, who gave it high marks. It debuted in 1979 as `Dear Kitty` at Hotel Concord in the Catskills, with Davis as Peter VanDaan, who hid with the Frank family.
Davis was a singing actor at the time and was thrilled to land the part.
`Since I’m Jewish, I was particularly intrigued,` he said. `I loved the piece from the beginning.`
Although Davis has since shifted gears so that he’s now more of a director, he’s remained fond of the piece, believing that its lessons of hope, courage and tolerance are timeless.
`It’s not only the Holocaust, it’s all holocausts,` he said. `Rwanda, Darfur ` these things are still going on.`
Like Davis, Shannon Rafferty, who plays Frank, thinks it’s important to keep Frank’s story alive.
`You learn history so you don’t repeat it,` she said.
Rafferty said she was impressed by Frank’s intelligence and courage. `She was brought up well,` she said.
Rafferty, meanwhile, was brought up in an artistic family. Her grandfather is local author William Kennedy, who won the Pulitzer Prize for `Ironweed,` which was turned into a movie starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. Rafferty’s dad is an actor, and Rafferty got the urge to take the stage herself while helping her dad practice lines.
`It’s kind of in my blood,` she said.
Rafferty earned a degree from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, taking occasional acting jobs while she studied. She recently moved back to the Capital District to work on a master’s degree from Russell Sage. Once she graduates, she has a simple aim: to be a working actor.
She’s been working a little extra hard on `Yours, Anne.` Rafferty wasn’t too familiar with Frank’s story before she was cast. But she’s spent a lot of time researching her role, `trying to understand the angle she’s coming from.`
Co-star Mary Brazeau feels the same kind of duty to her character, Mrs. VanDaan.
`You feel like you have a responsibility to breathe life into that character,` Brazeau said. `That desperation, that terror ` you want the audience to feel that. You want to make sure you get that just right.`
Brazeau, who is making her debut with NYSTI, has performed in a number of other productions locally and across the country. A graduate of Boston Conservatory, she said, `Singing is the big thing for me.`
Still, she admitted she `kind of chuckled` at the thought of Frank’s story being set to music.
`And yet, the music has a wonderful way of resonating,` she said.
Her lasting impression of her character is that although she appears weak in the show, she actually had a quiet inner strength that enabled her to be one of the last to die.
`She was a tough bird,` Brazeau said.
The show is recommended for ages 10 and older. Davis believes it will prove a powerful piece for the younger generation.
`I think with what young people have grown up with today, this is eye-opening, but not necessarily terrifying,` he said.
`Yours, Anne` will be performed at Schacht Fine Arts Center on the campus of Russell Sage College in Troy Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 22, at 2 p.m. There will also be weekday performances at 10 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, March 19 and 20, and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, March 24 to 26. Tickets are $20 for adults, $16 for senior citizens and students and $10 for children up to age 12. They can be purchased by calling the NYSTI box office at 274-3256 or visiting www.nysti.org.
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