What I liked
This show took some brilliant examinations about our engagement with the Holocaust and its intersections with sexism and queer erasure, while still being laugh-out-loud hilarious. Steele gave voice to so many problems that have lurked in the background with some portrayals of the Holocaust and particularly figures like Anne and provides new and exciting ways to engage with history.
The problem I have with saying how much I like it is that I’m either gonna spoil the jokes or make this sound like a doctoral thesis – it’s incredibly smart, but in no way dry. It’s funny, but also fantastically moving.
What I didn't like
I think some of the tangents could be SLIGHTLY trimmed. It’s the problem of Steele being SO good about her engagement with Anne, our engagement with history, sexuality, etc., that when she’s talking about hearing a lyric from Fun differently than its liner notes, I want to go back to the other things.
My overall impression
It’s been almost a day and it’s so much of what I’ve been thinking about the past 24 hours.
Steele takes audiences through a discussion of her own engagement with Anne Frank and her work, noting the sexism in the reception of the diary and its legacy, its relevance to young Jewesses (it’s okay, she’s reclaimed that word), and how it should move us to action in 2019. Throughout it, she bounces through subjects as varied about her experiences with anal sex, Anne’s beauty regiments and cattiness, how often she cries, life growing up in the south, and even the process of working through drafts of this piece.
It’s hilarious, infuriating, heart-breaking, and thought-provoking. Exactly what good theatre should be.
