Rachel Redleaf has known since age 4 that she wanted to be an actress. That’s when she made her first stage appearance. Now 16 and a junior at Horizon High School in Scottsdale, she has the lead role in “The Diary of Anne Frank” at Desert Stages Theatre.
“Playing Anne is a thrill. I love it. I realize I have to be careful and be true to her, and I’ve really enjoyed doing all the character work,” says Rachel enthusiastically. She adds that she saw the movie and did research on Anne and her family.
Desert Stages arranged for the cast to meet with Fred Greenwood, a local Holocaust survivor. “I know about the Holocaust from books and movies and my religious school training, but hearing a personal account was incredible,” says Rachel.
The play is based on Anne’s diary, which was discovered after the Frank family had been captured in their attic hiding place where they spent two years during World War II, hiding from the Gestapo in war-torn Amsterdam. The Anne Frank House is now a museum, which can be accessed on line at annefrank.org. The play is appropriate for children about 11 and older.
Rachel became a bat mitzvah at Temple Chai. She is in the choir at Horizon High and has appeared on stage with Desert Stages and other local theaters numerous times. She wants to choose a college that will help her in her future career on stage or in film.
