TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Thanks to a partnership with Anne Frank Center USA, the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center’s second annual Evening of Light will include a play performance titled Letters from Anne to Martin.

After seeing the performance live and feeling moved by it, CANDLES executive director, Troy Fears, worked to facilitate a partnership with the Anne Frank Center USA and incorporate the performance into this year’s Evening of Light. 

This year’s fundraising event will take place on Thursday, October 12 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis and will include a live performance of Letters from Anne to Martin, and the presentation of the Holocaust Educator Award. 

Letters from Anne to Martin, a two-person play, was developed from excerpts of Anne Frank’s diary, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and explores the similarities and overlap in the lives of the two historical figures. 

“Especially when you see the play, you realize the parallels between Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Junior. The play is performed by two professional actors who are literally reading the words that were written by Anne Frank and Martin Luther King. The prejudices they went through back in those times is still relevant today, and I admire the hope that both Anne Frank and Martin had for a better future,” Fears said. 

Attendees can expect a post-show discussion with the audience to learn more about both Anne and Martin and have the opportunity to discuss ways to confront discrimination and intolerance today. 

“We’re trying to kind of raise the profile of CANDLES because we are Indiana’s only Holocaust Museum, so we want folks from all over Indiana to know about CANDLES,” Fears said. “So for CANDLES, it’s something different for us to bring in for folks, and we hope that the community at large can enjoy it and have an understanding that they wouldn’t have had before,” Fears added.

For those interested in the play who may not be able to attend the Evening of Light, the play will be performed several times across the state at various institutions including the Indiana Historical Society, Kennedy King Center, Brookside Community Center, and Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University, as well as a performance in Terre Haute at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

The performance at Rose-Hulman will take place on Tuesday, October 10 at 12:00 p.m. at Hatfield Hall. 

To learn more about or attend An Evening of Light, or to donate to CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center, visit the event registration page.