Actors remember Anne Frank, MLK Jr.

SANDUSKY — Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr. left lasting legacies on opposite sides of the globe.And, interestingly, both were born 90 years ago.About 500 people showed up to see "Letters from Anne & Martin" Tuesday evening at the Sandusky State Theatre. The performance was funded by the Lange Trust.Frank, portrayed by Alexandra Gellner, and Wesli Spencer, who played King, recited excerpts from Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl and King's Letter from Birmingham Jail, respectively. The performance was developed by Gellner, the associate director of education-performances at The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect in New York City. They drew parallels to one another's tragedies, almost filling in each other's sentences as they described the unjustly racial and religious persecution they respectively faced. After performing for more than an hour, the actors had a question and answer session with the audience.Anne Frank, portrayed by Alexandra Gellner and Martin Luther King Jr., played by Wesli Spencer, perform during "Letters from Anne & Martin" Tuesday at the Sandusky State Theatre. The Lange Trust funded the performance, which drew 500 people. Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940 and in 1942, so the Frank family, in danger because they were Jewish, went into hiding. In 1944, the hiding place was discovered and the Franks were sent to a concentration camp. Anne Frank died at 15 years old in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in early 1945.The diary she kept while in hiding survived the war and was published in the Netherlands in 1947 and was first published in English in 1952.King penned his letter in spring 1963, when he was jailed with hundreds of his supporters for protesting segregation in hiring practices and at lunch counters a few months before making his famous "I Have A Dream" speech in Washington, D.C. Within the letter, he outlined his philosophy of nonviolence.Anne Frank, portrayed by Alexandra Gellner and Martin Luther King Jr., played by Wesli Spencer, perform Tuesday during "Letters from Anne & Martin" at the Sandusky State Theatre. The Lange Trust funded the performance, which drew 500 people. Upcoming Anne Frank programs at the Sandusky LibraryAll programs at the library are free.• "Anne Frank: A History for Today." A large traveling exhibit on display at Sandusky Library through Feb. 28.• "The Short Life of Anne Frank, a 28-minute movie. This month, the movie will be shown at 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11:30 a.m. Saturdays.• Book discussion: "Anne Frank: The Biography," by Melissa Müller, discussion leader Sandy Zagarell, Oberlin College. 6 p.m. Feb. 25. Copies of the book can be checked out in advance at the library.Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com, follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood and on Facebook.com/CaitliNearhoodAnne Frank, portrayed by Alexandra Gellner and Martin Luther King Jr., played by Wesli Spencer, begin to write their famous letters during "Letters from Anne & Martin" Tuesday at the Sandusky State Theatre. The Lange Trust funded the performance, which drew 500 people.