Evening is approaching on the first day of November. Although the halls of Mineola High School are quiet, inside one classroom after school, Director Ed Murray is shouting out directions to his cast. In just over a week those involved in Mineola's fine arts department will be putting on a production of the Diary of Anne Frank.

The cast is rehearsing a dramatic scene in which the Frank family is taken captive by a Nazi officer and two Dutch collaborators. In the scene, Anne grabs her diary as her family is collecting its valuables only to have the Nazi officer slap it from her hands. The scene illustrates the seriousness of the subject since it is not a fairy tale, but a grim reminder of a dark time in world history.

Murray is trying to make the theatre experience enjoyable for his cast while emphasizing to the students the seriousness of the situation. He directs the students to express the fear the Jewish people must have been feeling at that time. It is a difficult task, but Murray is a capable director and he is dealing with talented student-actors.

On Friday, Nov.16 through Sunday, Nov. 18, all those associated with the production, which is a re-creation of the adaptation by Wendy Kesselman that ran on Broadway, will transform the Mineola High School auditorium in 2001 to Amsterdam in 1942.

"It's more challenging in a sense that we have had to work very hard on realistic acting. It's not all character work so therefore the kids really have to get into the mindset of an actual person," Murray said.

On her 13th birthday, Anne Frank, a German Jewish girl receives a diary as a gift from her parents. Writing about her life with her family and three others, the diary became a dramatic recollection of Nazi persecution of the Jews.

For Murray and the students, recreating a story within the Holocaust is a difficult task, but one they are looking forward to. It is appropriate, in a way, to be producing this play during a time when the United States is recovering from a terrorist attack since the story of Anne Frank is a time warp to another period in history when humanity came face to face with evil.

Murray believes the story of Anne Frank provides hope and knowledge that we will endure and not let evil triumph over good. The Mineola School District's fine arts department hopes community members will attend the production to witness the hard work that goes into a production as students tackle a drama with a story that never gets old.

In addition to the production of the Diary of Anne Frank, the pre-show ensemble will recite and act out poems and drawings done by the children of the Theresinstadt concentration camp from the anthology I Never Saw Another Butterfly.

The production will take place on Friday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. in the auditorium of Mineola High School on Armstrong Road in Garden City Park. For tickets, call 739-4179.

The Diary of Anne Frank Cast:

Anne Frank-Susan Hahn

Mr. Otto Frank-Matt Badger

Mrs. Edith Frank-esenia Tromp

Margot Frank-Kristen Loesch

Miep Giles-Christine Dougherty

Peter Van Daan-Kenny D'Elia

Mr. Kraler-Tim Palma

Mrs. Van Daan-Danielle Mittleberg

Mr. Van Daan-Neil Dusling

Mr. Dussel-Matt Shanahan

Officers-George Billiris, Michael Frame, Ben Volino

The Children of Theresinstadt (pre-show ensemble)

John Dougherty

Soon-Jung Fong

Jessica Handibode

Amelia Hill

Kathleen Hughes

Michelle Moratto

Eileen Priboy

Carilyn Priolo

Alternate: Rachel Ramski

Understudies

For Anne-Kelly Dougherty

For Mr. Frank-Michael Frame

For Mrs. Frank-Kristin Lapoff

For Margot-Sarah McKeever

For MIEP-Candi Sterling

For Peter-Tim Palma

For Mrs. Van Daan Jessica Donahue

For Officers-Mike Purdy, Matt Baker