Illinois Central College Theatre Program Presents Six Performances Of and Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank

A unique performance portraying events as recalled by survivors of the Holocaust opens for six performances when the Illinois Central College Theatre Program presents And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank in the mainstage theatre of the ICC Performing Arts Center, located on the East Peoria Campus.

 

And Then They Came for Me is a unique theatrical experience – a multimedia play that combines videotaped interviews with Holocaust survivors Ed Silverberg and Eva Schloss with live actors recreating scenes from their lives during World War II. Silverberg was Anne Frank's first boyfriend, and she wrote about him in the beginning of her now-famous diary. Schloss was the same age as Anne Frank and lived in the same apartment building in Amsterdam. Eva’s family went into hiding the same day as the Frank family, and like the Frank family, they were betrayed. On Eva’s 15th birthday, the Schloss family was arrested by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps. Eva and her mother survived, and after the war, her mother married Otto Frank (Anne's father).

 

Part oral history, part dramatic action, part remembrance, And Then They Came for Me is like historic newsreel footage brought to life on the stage and makes for a powerful experience in the theater.

 

The six performances take place over two weekends between February 23 and March 4. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7:30 pm, and Sunday performances start at 2:30 pm.

 

And Then They Came for Me is rated PG for intense situations.

 

Cast members, their hometown and their roles include: Lili Cervantes of Lawton, Okla., as Anne Frank; Logan Dean, Princeville, Ed; Amilia Dierks, Morton, Mutti; Andrew Gray, Washington, Pappy; Vanessa Hesh, Pekin, Eva; Darrell Kimbro, Metamora, Ed’s mother; Dylan McDonell, Washburn, Heinz; Max Rutschke, Peoria, Ed’s father; and Kyle Tam, Washington, Hitler youth.

 

Robin Berkley directs the ICC production. The play is by James Still and is produced by special arrangement with the Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Ill.

 

Tickets cost $8 for the general public and $6 for students and senior citizens.

 

This show is presented by the Arts at ICC, which has a rich history of enhancing the arts community and expanding education beyond the classroom. Arts at ICC presents more than 500 exhibits, performances, lectures, rehearsals, meetings, master classes, clinics, seminars, receptions, orientations, forums, auditions and tournaments annually.

 

For tickets or more information, visit ArtsAtICC.com or call the ICC Performing Arts Center Box Office at (309) 694-5136.