Yours, Anne
A musical based on the book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. It has been performed in dozens of locations throughout the world, including the United States, Canada, England, Belgium, Holland, Brazil, and Japan.
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A musical based on the book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. It has been performed in dozens of locations throughout the world, including the United States, Canada, England, Belgium, Holland, Brazil, and Japan.
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The genesis of Yours, Anne took place in 1973. One day, lyricist Enid Futterman happened to notice her friend, the renowned actress and singer Andrea Marcovicci, wearing her hair in a style that evoked the famous photo of Anne which graces the cover of the published diary. Shortly thereafter, she asked Michael Cohen if he would be interested in writing a musical work based on the diary for Marcovicci.
To do so, they had to overcome an inevitable prejudice against musical theater as a form for Serious, even tragic subject matter. Cohen: “Whenever we approached people with the idea of writing a musical work based on Anne Frank’s diary, they were offended by the idea itself.” So they decided to write a large portion of the score, in the hope that they could persuade potential producers, and, especially, Otto Frank. Otto Frank wasn’t offended, but he was skeptical, and needed to be convinced that the work would honor his daughter’s spirit. Frank agreed to hear the piece then called “Dear Kitty” (which was how Anne addressed her diary). Marcovicci recorded many of the songs in 1975, and Otto Frank gave his permission and his blessing less than twenty minutes after he heard the last note. The date was August 4th, 31 years to the day after the arrest. Otto Frank died in 1980, and a number of those songs were sung at a memorial service at the 92nd street Y in New York City. Five years later – on October 10, 1985 – Yours, Anne premiered Off-Broadway at Playhouse 91. Yours, Anne was not the first music theater work about the life of Anne Frank to be seen in the USA, nor would it be the last. But Yours, Anne, which ran for six months, and spawned this cast Album, remains the only musical based on the diary to receive the approval of Otto Frank and the Anne Frank – Fonds, the Basel – based foundation that deals with the cultural aspects of Anne Frank’s legacy. |
In a paper presented at New York University in October 2004, analyzing Yours, Anne, among other works inspired by Anne Frank, Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies and ethnomusicologist Judah M. Cohen remarked: “Yours, Anne has proven to be extraordinarily durable." In the nearly 20 years since its opening, dozens of professional and amateur theater groups have staged the show throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, England, Belgium, Holland, Brazil, and Japan.
As Yours, Anne continued its performance life, Andrea Marcovicci’s early link to the piece was not forgotten, and in 1996, a song cycle, based on the musical, was created for her titled I Am Anne Frank It premiered with Marcovicci and the American Symphony Orchestra at New York’s Alice Tully Hall. Wanting to reach a new audience, a third project, a classical chamber piece scored for cello, flute, harp and mezzo- soprano, using material from Yours, Anne debuted at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC that same year. It was titled I Remember. From the diary of Anne Frank, December 7, 1942: “We didn’t make much fuss about Chanukah; we just gave each other a few trifles, and then we had the candles. Because of the shortage of candles, we only had them alight for ten minutes, but that is alright, as long as you have a song.” |
December 04, 2005 Please allow me praise the re-issue of the 1986 Off-Broadway Cast Album “Yours, Anne”
The production started performances October 10, 1985, at Playhouse 91, but was not recorded until May 20 and June 2, 1986. This production was remarkably effective and there is scarcely a thing to fault on this beautifully produced reissue [CDJAY 1391] from the beautifully performed score (even at only 49:43 on 21 tracks, it feels rich, full and just enough) to the four handsome full-color production photographs, to the excellent two page plot synopsis putting the songs in context, to the warm colors of the cover painting - uncredited, but fairly clearly in the style of Lincoln Center favorite, McMullan. While this far after the date, I wish John had thought enough of his audience to give the FULL run stats (the dates are tucked neatly behind the CD), but I am mightily impressed with Bert Fink's fine production history which is honest enough to acknowledge the specifics of Andrea Marcovicci's early role in the development of the piece dating from 1973 (Trini Alvarado's Anne will still inescapably remind many of Marcovicci's pure soprano), and her fine 1975 recording of the score to that point. This is one of those rare instances where a serious student may want both recordings.I'm particularly fond of the Marcovicci, but John's reissue is hands down the superior physical production and - if one *has* to choose - the one to own. —John Esche |
In 1985, Enid Futterman wrote the book and Michael Cohen wrote the music for Yours, Anne, the only one of several musical theater treatments of the Anne Frank story that was authorized by Frank's father, Otto. The work was recorded and is now available on CD. It is a powerful and moving musical treatment of the touching story of survival that Frank committed to a diary that was found after she and her family were incarcerated after being found in their hidden Amsterdam living space. The music and performances of a fine cast convey the emotional struggle that the family endured in their attempt to evade the Nazis. The music is melodic and haunting and highlights the familiar story that Frank told of her family's difficult ordeal. The work has been performed frequently and this touching musical is a brilliant testament to the power and wonder of the Frank family's challenging circumstances.
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Video: Preview of the 2024 production of Yours, Anne (Je Anne)
February 26, 2024 - Amstelveen, Netherlands |
Video: I Remember from the 2010 production of Yours, Anne (Je Anne)
November 16, 2010 - Amsterdam, Netherlands |