FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 19, 2001

Quispamsis Teenager Lands Demanding Stage Role
Saint John Theatre Company To Produce 'The Diary of Anne Frank'

The Saint John Theatre Company has chosen a Quispamsis teenager to portray one of the one the most famous and tragic figures of the 20th century.

Marissa Rignanesi, a 19-year-old university student, will play the title role in The Diary of Anne Frank at the Imperial Theatre November 16 and 17.

Almost 50 young women auditioned for what director Bob Doherty calls a “demanding and wonderful role.” When he told Rignanesi she had the part, she was elated.

“I was so excited and I gave him the biggest hug,” says Marissa. “The only time I had experience working with him was at the audition. But I gave him the biggest hug and I said thank you so much.”

Written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and adapted by Wendy Kesselman, the play is based on the actual diary of Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager who spent two years hiding from the Nazis during World War II. She died at the age of 15 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Rignanesi read the diary when she was a child. But when she read it again in preparation for her audition, she understood Anne’s words in a whole new way.

“It’s so powerful and it’s such a story,” she says. “The line that always sticks out to me is when Anne is talking about wanting to live on after she dies…and that she really believes people are good at heart. I think that has the most impact on me.”

Doherty says he chose Rignanesi for the role because of her maturity, talent and intelligence, as well as her physical resemblance to Anne Frank.

“I was hoping to find someone with all these qualities,” he explains. “But truthfully I thought my chances of locating such a person were slim. Fortunately, Marissa came to auditions and showed me she had what I thought was required for this role.”

Rignanesi, a second-year e-commerce student at UNBSJ, has experience singing, dancing and playing piano with the Kennebecasis Valley Players, KidSing and DanSing. This is her first role with the Saint John Theatre Company.

“If anyone doesn’t know the story of Anne, the play is just going to open their eyes so much,” she says. “I think this is going to make it so much more real and give it a more personal feel for them. They’ll be able to see and watch these families on stage and say ‘they’re people, this really happened to somebody.’ It’s not just a play that somebody decided to write.”

The Diary of Anne Frank will also feature Elizabeth Chase, Stephen Tobias, Laura Higgs, Irwin Hornik, Suzy McCormick, Tom and Jonathan Goud, Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon and several other local performers.

The Diary of Anne Frank is one of three productions the Saint John Theatre Company will mount at the Imperial Theatre this season. In February, the company will stage Sylvia, a charming comedy about a love triangle between a husband, wife, and a stray dog. The season will close in May with the romantic adventure - Cyrano de Bergerac.

Subscriptions are only $30 - $39 (+ Imperial Theatre Service charge) for all three shows. Individual tickets for the two evening performances and the Saturday matinee of The Diary of Anne Frank are $10-$19.

There will be an Open Dress Rehearsal for Students on Thursday, November 15 at 8PM. Tickets for the Open Dress are $5 per student.

Subscriptions and individual tickets are available at the Imperial Theatre Box or by calling 674-4100.

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