By John Dunkelgrün.
ANNE & EMMETT, The story of Anne Frank and Emmett Till meeting in a place called Memory
by Janet Langhart Cohen
De La Mar theatre, Amsterdam / May 18th and 19th at 20.30
Anne Frank is arguably the most iconic girl in the world. She personifies innocence, brutally murdered because of nothing but her religion. Emmett Till is less known outside the United States, but he too was an innocent youngster who was murdered in an atrocious way because of nothing but his race. The story of Anne Frank is well known. Emmett Till was a black boy from Chicago, who in 1955 went to visit his family in Mississippi. He was accused of whistling at a white woman, was clubbed to death and thrown into the Tallahatchie river weighted down by the fan of an old cotton gin. His murderers went unpunished and even received money for their story.
Anne became famous because her father published her diaries. Emmett’s mother made his murder a nationwide story because she insisted upon an open casket at the funeral service, so people could see what had happened to her son. Emmett Till in death became a rallying cry for the American Civil Rights movement. When Janet Langhart Cohen, a woman of colour and a renowned journalist and author saw how closely related the stories of Anne and Emmett were, she decided to make them into a play. Put together, the author realised that their message would be that much stronger. The fight against racism and hate is ongoing.
The play has been successfully performed in Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and other US cities. You have a chance to see it with the original cast in Amsterdam on two nights only. After each performance, there will be a discussion led by the author and her husband, former U.S. Senator and Secretary of Defense in the Clinton Administration, William S. Cohen.
“If we remember, just maybe the good in us will have a decent chance to survive”
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Tickets €27.50 (students and young people €10)
Reservations: info@delamar.nl
Theatre information: 020 555 2653 – Nina Ziegler / Further information : 0654 253 650 – Roberta Enschede
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Photography by Janet Langhart Cohen
