When Anne Frank chronicled the hardships she and her family endured while hiding from the Nazis in a cramped Amsterdam loft during World War II, she hardly could have known the effect her observances would have, and continue to have, on the world through the mediums of literature, cinema and theater.

This Jewish Dutch girl, by her own admission a bit of a brat and a chatterbox, cast the horrors of the Holocaust in a personal perspective as she recorded how her family — in vain, except for one member — bonded with four strangers, living in near starvation to survive. Her father, the lone survivor, shared Anne's writings with the world, which eventually led to the stage drama "The Diary of Anne Frank" and a subsequent motion picture.

The play, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, has been performed all over the world and is one of the theater's most familiar stories. Recently, however, an adapted version was produced on Broadway to high acclaim, and it is this treatment that is being offered at the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse.

While not exactly in a "blank environment" as advertised — director Terra Taylor Knudson's production does involve a setting, and a cramped one at that — the claustrophobic atmosphere is indeed prevalent. Eight share a tiny attic with the predictable abrasion of emotions, since even the most loving of families would grow testy in these conditions, which only magnify when boxed in with strangers.

One strong benefit in this production is the fact that the mother and her two daughters share a strong physical resemblance. Accidental as this may be, it serves to underscore the reality of the situation in which they find themselves.

Cast in the title role — taken just halfway through rehearsals — is young Alison Axelrad, who turns in a most enchanting performance as her character matures from rowdy little girl to perceptive young lady experiencing the initial flushes of sexuality.

Although Axelrad succeeds marvelously in establishing her character, she would benefit from increased volume and projection, particularly in her attic scenes at the rear of the stage. She is especially effective in her narrative moments, stepping outside the loft to share her innermost thoughts and feelings with the audience.

Charlie Reeves tempers a natural blandness with what seems to be excessive agonizing at the outset of the play but establishes his role as a loving father splendidly. More painfully involving is Sharryl Wynne as his wife and Anne's mother, somewhat emotionally estranged from her daughter, who projects her character's outward terror most convincingly.

The plum acting roles in any production of this play are the Van Daans, a greedy and self-centered portly couple who quarrel with their hosts and each other. At Costa Mesa, an offstage husband-and-wife team — Michael Dale Brown and Barbara Brown — enact these characters with raw, consuming power that illustrates their overwhelming fear and anxiety. The scenes focusing on her fur coat and his gluttony are particularly poignant.

Melissa Scott portrays Anne's saintly older sister with a fine sense of balance and affection. John Schwendinger is quite effective as the Van Daans' teenage son, Peter, whose resentment with Anne soon turns into a special, though unfulfilled relationship.

A late arrival to the hideaway is Dave Redmond as a jittery dentist who shares Anne's room and generally performs like a fish out of water. Katherine Futterer is engaging as Miep, the fugitives' link to the outside world, who in real life would do much to further the Anne Frank legend.

The Costa Mesa production, at least on opening night, was not quite as tight as it might be. The most glaring defect came at the climax, before the capture, as three groups of actors waited wordlessly on stage for the technical effects signaling the Nazis' encroachment to kick in. This, presumably, has been remedied for future audiences.

No matter how familiar an audience is, and conditioned, with "The Diary of Anne Frank," this story still draws chills, and tears, because it actually happened. The Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse is to be commended for staging this difficult but supremely important history lesson

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews appear Fridays

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