Literature Live's The Diary of Anne Frank

Jessica Mortellaro (Anne Frank) and Sawyer Avery (Peter Van Daan)
Photo by Laurie Barone-Schaefer

Bay Street Theatre’s Literature Live! presents THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK live on stage Friday, November 8 through Tuesday, November 26. The play is suggested for ages 13 and up. The program is sponsored in part by The Dana Foundation; Halstead Property; Suffolk County; The Sunny & Abe Rosenberg Foundation; Colgate-Palmolive; and the Town of Southampton. Public performance pricing is set at $12 for students and $25 for adults with special rates for schools and other groups.

The Diary of Anne Frank, written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, is presented as part of Bay Street Theatre’s Literature Live! 2013 educational program, which presents a piece of literature selected from the core curriculum and brings it to life on stage for the general public as well as for schools across Long Island.

Literature Live! is a BOCES-approved Arts-in-Education program. Plays chosen are from standards-based literature and are supported with teacher-developed lesson plans and reference materials. All performances are 90 minutes and weekday shows are followed by a question and answer session with Werner Reich, a Holocaust survivor.

"We are looking forward to this year’s Literature Live! performance of Anne Frank," says Executive Director Tracy Mitchell. "The Literature Live program reaches thousands of students as well as the general public and we are glad to bring this important story back to life this fall in a fully staged, theatrical production."

The production will be directed by Joe Minutillo. Minutillo attended Hofstra University and Graduated with a BA in English and later, Theatre. While at Hofstra he worked closely with Dr. Richard F. Mason who became his mentor in directing. In his last year at the University, Minutillo choreographed the fight sequences in Ray Lawler’s play, "Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll" which won the American College Theatre Festival in Washington DC and for which he also received the "Award of Excellence" for fight choreography. After graduating, he continued his studies at Circle in the Square Theatre School and worked with Alan Langdon, Terese Hayden, Elizabeth Parrish, Jacqueline Brooks, and B.H. Barry.

Minutillo was one of the founding members of the New York State Theatre Education Association (NYSTEA) and has assisted with the NYS Assessment in Theatre and the development of the NYS teacher certification in Theatre. This past year received the NYS highest honor in Theatre Education, The "Rod Marriot Award", for his contribution and work in Theatre Education. During his tenure as a Theatre Educator he has directed more than 130 productions in NYC, at the Gateway Playhouse, the Young Playwright’s program at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, and for the Young American Writers Project (YAWP) for Emma Walton and Will Chandler through Stony Brook University. Recently Minutillo performed in Joseph Sturek’s, "Michael In Room 2" at the Abingdon Theatre Complex, the June Havoc Theatre.

The Cast of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK: Sawyer Avery (Peter Van Daan), Keith Cornelius (Mr. Frank), Chloe Dirksen (Miep), Terrance Fiore (Mr. Dussel), Lydia Franco-Hodges (Mrs. Frank), Josh Gladstone (Mr. Van Daan), Jessica Mortellaro (Anne Frank), Kate Mueth (Mrs. Van Daan), Joe Pallister (Mr. Kraler) and Georgia Warner (Margot Frank).

The Production team of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK will consist of Chris Clark (Production Stage Manager), Elizabeth Schiavo (Assistant Stage Manager), Gary Hygom (Set Designer), Mike Billings (Lighting Designer), Kate Darcy, (Costume Co-ordinator), Greg Wilson (Costume Co-ordinator) and Daniel Goodale (Composer).

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett is a stage adaptation of the book. The story, which made its debut in 1956, won both a Tony award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for drama. This riveting play about the lives of eight people hiding from the Nazis in a concealed space above a warehouse, allows audiences to feel their claustrophobic existence, their hopes, their fears and their indomitable will to survive.

For those who are interested in supporting the program, donations can be made online at www.baystreet.org or by calling the Administrative office at 631-725-0818.

For group sales, show times and to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 631-725-9500 or buy online at www.baystreet.org.

CLICK HERE for more information about Werner Reich

	Sawyer Avery (Peter Van Daan) - Sawyer was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and moved to NYC when he was 18 years of old to study theater. This is his 5th play on the east coast that he will be a part of. Recent work includes: The Seagull (Kostya); Belgrade Trilogy (Mica); Kill the Big (Taylor)
	Keith Cornelius (Mr. Frank) – acted as a child making home movies with former backyard neighbor Alec Baldwin. He studied theatre at Lee Strasberg Institute, Ensemble Theatre NYC and has been acting ever since.
	Chloë Dirksen (Miep) – Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible (Bay Street Theatre), Mary in Mary’s Wedding (Lighthouse Festival Theatre), Elvira in Blithe Spirit (Theatre at the Centre), Brooke in Noises Off (Stage West/ Theatre Aquarius), Shelby in Steel Magnolias (Waterloo Stage Company).
	Terrance Fiore (Mr. Dussel) - is thrilled to be making his Bay Street debut in The Diary of Anne Frank.  Terry has appeared in theatrical performances throughout the East End, including, most recently, Other People’s Money (HTC) and Tennessee Williams’ In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel (HITFest).
	Lydia Franco-Hodges (Mrs. Frank) – Credits include: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), Tale of the Allergist’s Wife (Mulford Repertory Theatre), Extremities (HIT Fest), A Kenneth Koch Celebration (Miller Theater at Columbia) and she created the role of the Maker in Eve (NPC), which she also produced and Assistant Directed.
	Josh Gladstone (Mr. Van Daan) - is the Artistic Director of the John Drew Theater at Guild Hall, where he’s produced and directed since 2000.  Local appearances: Neo-Political Cowgirls’ EVE; Mulford Rep; RoundTable’s Macbeth; and SCTC as Hook in Peter Pan.
	Jessica Mortellaro (Anne Frank) - Previous credits include The Real Thing (Syracuse Stage), Wizard of Oz (Gateway Playhouse), ‘Til Death Do Us Part (Workshop/Alec Baldwin Fellowship), and Count of Monte Cristo (Bleecker Street Theater). She dedicates her performance to her grandparents who were holocaust survivors.
	Kate Mueth (Mrs. Van Daan) - is an actor, director and choreographer. Artistic Director of the dance theater company Neo-Political Cowgirls and sketch comedy film production company Sitz and Jiggles. Recent work: Tonight at 8:30 starring Blythe Danner, Monodramas at Lincoln Center, directing the immersive theater experience EVE with NPC. npcowgirls.org
	Joe Pallister (Mr. Kraler) - The Cripple of Inishmaan (BABBY BOBBY), Good People (Mike Dillon), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (McMurphy), Doubt (Father Flynn), A Streetcar Named Desire (Stanley), To Kill A Mockingbird (Bob Ewell), Of Mice And Men (George).
	Georgia Warner (Margot Frank) - Recent plays include The Cripple of Inishmaan, Equus (w. Alec Baldwin), Moby Dick Rehearsed – Guild Hall; Of Mice and Men – Pioneer Theatre Company; The Crucible – Northern Stage. Films include “Narcissism”, “Fish”, “Bridge and Tunnel”.  בכבוד