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Hyde Park, NY – When she was 13 years old, Anne Frank, like many young girls, received a diary for her birthday. More than 70 years later, the diary she kept is read in classrooms around the world, produced as movies, plays, and musicals. This spring, Half Moon Theatre proudly presents a play based on Anne’s diary called Yours, Anne. The play has a limited run of two weekends at The Culinary Institute of America’s Marriott Pavilion.

Yours, Anne by Enid Futterman is an 80-minute musical adaptation of “Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank and “The Diary of Anne Frank” by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. The show features music by Michael Cohen and is directed by Michael Schiralli. Yours, Anne premiered off-Broadway in 1996 and has been performed around the world, including venues in the Netherlands, South Africa, Japan, and Lincoln Center.

This critically-acclaimed musical brings to life Anne’s diary about her experiences as a young girl living in hiding with her family for two years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during WWII. “More than seven decades later, the contradiction between the tragedy of Anne Frank’s circumstances, and the triumph of her spiritual survival, is even more striking. Anne transcended the oppression of the Holocaust by inspiring generations throughout the world with her writing,” Futterman said. Yours, Anne is a beautiful and timely coming-of-age story that lifts up important themes for audiences of all ages, including the need for tolerance, and the power of love, friendship, and the human spirit to sustain us in troubled times.

Half Moon Theatre, a professional theatre company based in Poughkeepsie, NY sought to bring Yours, Anne to the Hudson Valley as part of its 10th anniversary season. “One of the main focuses of Half Moon Theatre is to present professional theatre productions which tell an authentic story as it relates to the human spirit,” Molly Katz, executive director of Half Moon Theatre, said. “Several months ago local theatre enthusiasts and community leaders such as Rabbi Leah Berkawitz from Vassar Temple expressed an interest in producing this show, and our team at Half Moon agreed. Yours, Anne embodies everything we want to bring to Hudson Valley, and more. We felt that it was definitely a story that needed to be told and it fit perfectly within our 10th anniversary season.”

Yours, Anne will be performed at the CIA’s Marriott Pavilion from March 25 through April 2 and weekday matinee performances for schools and community groups will be held on Friday, March 31 and Tuesday, April 4 at 10 a.m. Tickets range from $18–$35 and discounts are available for groups of eight or more. Opening night audiences will enjoy a complimentary reception immediately following the show, and on March 26 a “talk-back” with the cast will follow the performance.

Preceding the opening of Yours, Anne, Half Moon Theatre, in collaboration with the FDR Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, NY, will present “Anne Frank: Contemporary Perspectives in the Arts and Humanities,” a panel discussion. This free, public event will take place on Sunday, March 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the Library’s Henry A. Wallace Center. The discussion will be moderated by Paul Sparrow, director of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, and will include: Leon Botstein, president of Bard College and Leon Levy professor in the arts and humanities; Edna Nahshon, professor of Jewish theater and drama at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York; and Enid Futterman, lyricist and librettist of Yours, Anne. Cast members of Yours, Anne will perform musical excerpts from the show to effectively connect the theatrical production with the themes of the panel. A reception will immediately follow the discussion. Light refreshments will be served. For reservations visit .

What:Yours, Anne
Where: Marriott Pavilion at the CIA
When: March 25–April 2
Student and Community Group Matinees: Friday, March 31 at 10 a.m. and Tuesday, April 4 at 10 a.m.
Tickets: $18-$35. Group, student and senior discounts available.
More Info: Visit www.halfmoontheatre.org or call 845-235-9885

Photo Caption:

Yours, Anne, a musical adaptation of Anne Frank’s world-famous Diary of a Young Girl, will be presented by Half Moon Theatre at The Culinary Institute of America from March 25 to April 2, 2017. The play addresses important themes for audiences of all ages.

Media Contact:

Sara Capozzoli
Public Relations Director
914-456-6832
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About Half Moon Theatre:
Founded in 2006, Half Moon Theatre (HMT) is the Hudson Valley’s only year-round professional theater company. HMT brings plays and musicals from Broadway and Off-Broadway to the Mid-Hudson region and supports the development of new work by American playwrights, composers and lyricists. The mainstage season is presented at the Marriott Pavilion on The Culinary Institute of America campus in Hyde Park, NY. HMT also operates a School of the Arts and a Studio Theatre in Poughkeepsie, NY. HMT Education cultivates a new generation of theater artists and fans through in-school residencies, theater classes, and professional training programs. The HMT Junior Company creates and performs free shows at hospitals, senior centers and community events. Performances, education and outreach programs serve over 15,000 youth and adults annually, enhancing the quality of life for local residents while also promoting tourism in the Hudson Valley. HMT is the recipient of the 2015 Dutchess County Tourism Arts Award of Distinction and 2014 Dutchess County Executive’s Arts Organization of the Year by Arts Mid-Hudson. Visit www.halfmoontheatre.org.

About The Culinary Institute of America:
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier culinary college. Dedicated to developing leaders in foodservice and hospitality, the independent, not-for-profit CIA offers bachelor’s degree majors in management, culinary science, and applied food studies; associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts; and executive education through its Food Business School. The college also offers certificate programs and courses for professionals and enthusiasts. Its conferences and consulting services have made the CIA the think tank of the food industry and its worldwide network of 49,000 alumni includes innovators in every area of the food business. The CIA has campuses in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore.

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