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| Jerry Gass (left) as Mr. Kaler and Dorne Lefere (right) as Otto Frank share close family ties PHOTO by Jan Cartwright |
Anne Frank’s story
would never have been told were it not for those who survived her. In the Farmington Players production of
The Diary of Anne Frank, Dorne Lefere
and Jerry Gass play characters based on real people who continued to tell Anne’s
story well after World War II:
Dorne portrays Otto Frank (father of Anne and Margot, and husband of
Edith), and Jerry plays Mr. Kaler, who is based on the life of Victory Kugler. It’s hard to imagine how life went on
for Otto Frank after the war, but after publishing Anne’s diary in 1947, he
eventually remarried a fellow Jewish survivor Fritzi Markovits, in 1953. The
couple lived Switzerland until Frank died in 1980. Victor Kugler was an employee of Otto Frank who helped
run his business after he went into hiding. As shown in the play, Kugler secretly bought supplies and
money to the Franks, at great personal risk to himself and his family. Although Kugler was arrested with those
in the Annex, he escaped during a forced march from a concentration camp. He remarried, moved to Canada -- where
he gave talks in schools about Anne Frank -- and died in 1981.
Dorne Lefere can
relate to the Anne Frank story because, like Otto, he knows what it’s like to
have a close father-daughter relationship. However, as Dorne says, “that close relationship cuts both
ways. I am constantly reminded
that, unlike Otto Frank, I am a man who was able to: raise a daughter and watch
her become woman; walk her down the aisle on her wedding day; and hold her own
children in my arms and sing them to sleep.” Dorne connects with Otto by “my being not only the father of
a girl, but also now the grandfather of three girls. My oldest granddaughter is
only a few years younger than Anne was when she first went into hiding.”
Jerry Gass is married
(to Jan Cartwright) and has “five fabulous kids, plus in-laws, and grandkids,”
so he can also appreciate the joys of family and feel the tragedy of the lives
cut short. As Jerry says, “I love that the play touches on aspects of family,
loyalty, courage, and perseverance.
Visiting the Holocaust Center bonded the cast. My memory of that day will always be not only what I saw,
but who was with me when we saw it.”
Jerry feels strongly that “this play deserves to be embraced by
audiences. Director Maureen Mansfield has shown great leadership in encouraging
all of us to bring personal experiences into the show, and I believe it will
resonate with anyone who sees it, regardless of their personal background or
perspective.” Dorne adds
that Anne Frank is still relevant
today because of the “parallels to the bigotry and suspicion exhibited by some
of our political leaders and general population towards minority religious
groups.”
Among his many
passions, Jerry includes “my zealous allegiance to Michigan State athletics,
Tiger baseball, and Summer-league softball.” Dorne recently retired as a business owner and lawyer. However, as he jokes, “I keep my
membership in the Michigan Bar active in order to continue to represent my
children in traffic matters, which activity constituted the bulk of my practice
when they were teenagers. I still
get Christmas cards from several collision shops in the Detroit area.”
The Farmington
Players production of The Diary of Anne
Frank is proudly sponsored by Weinstein Jewelers. The show has three
remaining performances from March 3 – March 5. Tickets are available online at
farmingtonplayers.org or by contacting the Barn box office at boxoffice@farmingtonplayers.org or 248-553-2955.
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