Anne Frank, The Musical

While the premise sounds like an ill-fated Saturday Night Live skit, The Diary of Anne Frank has been made into a musical by Spanish director Rafael Alvero. An article published in Variety on Feb. 15th reports the play will open later this month. El diario de Ana Frank- un canto a la vida or, The Diary of Anne Frank: A Song to Life has a lot of people squirming. One of Frank's only surviving relatives, Buddy Elias, didn't parse any words when he said "the Holocaust is not something that should be represented in a musical." Seems fair. While those involved in the production insist that the tale will be a tasteful representation of the Holocaust victim's life, the material may be too volatile to overcome hurdles. For instance, El Diaro will premiere in Madrid's Haagen-Dazs-Calderon theatre. "Remember the Holocaust? Well, once you get over pondering man's potential for deep, senseless evil, consider buying some ice cream." –Andy Wright