BEFORE FATE TURNS THE LIGHT ON
REVIEW: THIRTEEN’S SPRING
BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO
In this year’s over 300 Hollywood Fringe theater works, you’ll find that most of them are comedies, upbeat musicals, edgy or experimental works. The Moving Art Collective brings us something different and poignant, the world premiere of Thirteen’s Spring, a historical drama about Anne Frank. At this point many are already thinking, “Not another Anne Frank story”; however, this is not the Anne Frank story that is often told. This tale focuses on the three weeks of Anne Frank’s life before she and her family disappeared into hiding. Furthermore, it takes a microscopic look onto Frank living her life as a budding and spirited teenager and everything that she is looking forward to until she’s forced to forgo the rest of her childhood and hide from the world.
Joseph Tanner Paul, Michael Bates, Elena Sanz, and Nora King.
Playwright Amanda Jane Shank’s Thirteen Spring is like a pretty little picture that, although brief, is chock-full of details of life and fervor. This miniature play, spanning under an hour, takes you into the world of this young girl in a personal and relatable way. Shank allows you get caught up in the exciting life of Anne whose just had her first kiss, met her first love and just celebrated her thirteenth birthday with only auspicious hopes for her future. As the story progresses Shank slowly unravels the events leading up to the story most are already familiar with and just like that the bubble bursts and the rest is history.
Director Fernando Belo embraces and heightens Shank’s structure and characters by further focusing the audience and bringing out the innocence in the young Frank. Furthermore, Belo has added hints of movement to key moments in Frank’s journey, bringing dimension and energy to Frank’s character and spirit. All parts of this play move like clockwork, serving the drama and reflecting the passing of time that unconsciously affects the audience.
Nora King and Joseph Tanner Paul.
Nora King (Anne Frank) is focused and ebullient, often at the same time. She successfully harnesses the zest of this young girl in everything she does. Although there are moments when we realize that King is an adult in real life, in the scenes with her father, King digs deep and manifests a profound child-like innocence that cannot be denied. Anne’s father, Otto Frank (Michael Bates) is one of the most relatable characters in the play. His delivery of the role exudes the compassion and authority present in any father-daughter relationship. Audiences will also enjoy Hello’s (Joseph Tanner Paul) performance, he’s a spunky young lad that loves our beloved Anne—the chemistry between the two is absolutely charming. Anne’s mother, Edith Frank (Elena Sanz) is stoic and anxious, you sense the growing fear inside her from beginning to end. Sanz always brings us back to the reality of what will ultimately come to pass.
Thirteen’s Spring may not be flashy or a comic, but is a piece worth seeing, a new perspective of the Anne Frank tale that reminds us of the inevitability of fate and the importance of living in the present.
Joseph Tanner Paul, and Nora King.
The Moving Art Collective invites you to experience Thirteen’s Spring at The Actor’s Company (916 North Formosa Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046 at the Let Live Theater) during the month of June. Tickets are $12 General Admission.
PERFORMANCES:
June 17th at 10:00 pm
June 18th at 2:30 pm
June 19th at 4:00 pm
June 25th at 4:00 pm
For tickets and more information visit: hollywoodfringe.org
