Seacoast Repertory Theater takes a break from the musicals it’s so well known for to bring us “The Diary of Anne Frank” for its November offering. The story is a tale that bears oft repeating. Not just so that we don’t reenact this horrible genocide, but so that we can remember that under the most adverse of circumstances, the human race can triumph.

To sum up for the very few people unfamiliar with the tale, “The Diary of Anne Frank” is based on the true story of a young Jewish girl who, with her mother, father and sister, another couple and their son, Peter, and a dentist, all take up hiding in the Annex, a space behind a bookcase in her father’s former business in Amsterdam, during the Nazi occupation.

This particular adaptation is more important than any I’ve seen to date, as it doesn’t adhere so much to the somewhat candied version we’ve seen before, but tries to get to the heart of who this bright and charming soul really was. It shows that Anne, at this age-appropriate time, was beginning to deal with her attraction to and curiosity about sex, as well as the natural adversity and separation from her mother. We also see how deeply she had come to value her Jewish roots, and what she was trying to glean from this heritage. It all serves to illuminate the tale even further, making it more powerful—it also leaves even more of an ache in your chest.

Abby Rose, as the ebullient Anne, could not have been more appropriately cast. She is magnetic and enchanting, and she brings us right onto the stage with her, back to a time and place when all lived in terror but still had to find day-to-day joy in the life they could make. David Kaye, as her father, the single survivor of the atrocity, gives a seamless, complete performance to complement Rose’s.

Christopher Bradley as Mr. Van Daan, Peter’s father, was the casting shock of the century. Never has a comedian so stunned his audience since Robin Williams shed his Popeye garb and put on fatigues for “Good Morning Vietnam!” He is every bit as full and enchanting in this dramatic performance as he’s ever been in tap shoes.

Megan Quinn (who will always be Shelley in “Batboy” to me) as Anne’s sister and Josh Moore as her would-be suitor are sweetly cast, as well. Some of the show’s more adorable moments are found in the nervous jumbling between Anne and Peter, charmingly reminiscent of each audience member’s own awkward and bumbling first kiss, special enough to be treasured forever.

Don LaBranche, as Dussel the dentist, delivers another of his right-on performances. Elizabeth Barry, as Mrs. Barry, seems a little uncomfortable being the mother of a 14-year-old, and not quite sure how to adapt to the others’ performances. As the run progresses, she may well find her niche.

The real kudos of the evening goes to John McCluggage, the new Artistic Director of SRT, in his directorial debut. He has cast well, his actors live the piece onstage for us, and he gives us history wound up beautifully in a story. Scenic designer Michael Minahan creates a world where we can feel the unbearable confines of their lives for more than two years, two years that have resonated with audiences all over the world and will for many generations to come.