On Theater:

Of all the fact-based stories written for the stage or screen, few possess the sheer staying power of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” which has stirred audiences for many decades, reminding each new generation of the fears implanted by the specter of the Holocaust.

Taken from the private journal of a young girl destined, with her family, for the death camps in World War II, the story originally was pieced together by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and later adapted by Wendy Kesselman. More than 60 years later, it still touches the soul.

Several local theaters have produced this drama over the years, and now the Huntington Beach Playhouse has mounted an involving, if somewhat low-key, interpretation of this by-now quite familiar story of real people attempting to elude the grip of atrocity.

Given a large stage on which to work, director Michael Serna has condensed the playing area, ostensibly to simulate the cramped conditions under which the eight fugitive Jews found themselves in the loft of an Amsterdam factory from 1942 to 1944.

The effect is limited, however, since the actors often find themselves upstaged as a result.

Young Anne often is affectionately called “Annika” in the play, so it’s fitting that she is portrayed by 13-year-old Annika Bertea, a promising child actress who delivers a fine, articulate performance. Her only failing is a tendency to deliver all her dialogue on the same level, avoiding her character’s extreme highs and lows.

Christopher Violette enacts her wise father, Otto, in a thoughtful, almost emotionless interpretation — until his final moment when, as the lone survivor, he grippingly recounts his family’s horrible fate. More animated in contrast is Melinda Harlow as Mrs. Frank, rendering a richly charged portrayal of cornered captivity while dealing with a young daughter who clearly prefers her father over her mother.

The evening’s finest performance comes from Kip Hogan as Mrs. Van Daan, the garrulous, yet highly sensitive, wife of Otto Frank’s business partner and a constantly nagging presence. Overshadowed partly as a result is Nick D. Pappas as her perpetually hungry husband, who fails to sell his biggest scene as he’s caught pilfering food.

The younger performers — Jessica Villalba as Anne’s studious older sister and Cory Provost as the Van Daans’ shy, reclusive son — are quite impressive. Frank Valdez Jr. is particularly effective as the jittery dentist who joins their ranks, while Danelle Von Visger and Eric S. Labins are fine as the pair from the outside world who assist the fugitives.

The play’s aura of foreboding, a virtual character waiting outside, is nicely established, though often compromised by periods of “dead space” during the transitional moments. Music, sound effects or, perhaps, Anne’s recorded voice over the changes rather than the actress addressing the audience, might fill these awkward gaps.

The tri-level setting, designed by the director, enriches the smothering atmosphere of the factory’s attic. Gary Castler’s costumes fit the period effectively, while Jon Hyrkas’ lighting effects add a further ominous note.

“The Diary of Anne Frank” is an important piece of theater that must continue to be repeated as an object lesson against the sort of inhumanity that inspired it. Its message of courage and compassion has universal appeal.

If You Go

WHAT: “The Diary of Anne Frank”

WHO: Huntington Beach Playhouse

WHERE: Library Theater, 7111 Talbert Ave

WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through July 26

COST: $18 to $20

CALL: (714) 375-0696

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.