The theatre space at the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck is a massive wooden barn, and if you squint at it just so, you might be able to visualize it as Noah’s Ark. Like that floating refuge of biblical lore, this building has had to ride out some pretty daunting weather, what with the nearby stream swollen by the rains of Hurricane Irene flowing right into its basement. Since that’s where the theatre’s rehearsal space, costume storage, dressing rooms and mechanical workings are located, the Center was forced to kick off its fall season elsewhere.

But now there’s good news: The Ark has come to rest on dry land at last, and it’s time to release the doves, you might say. Although the needed renovations are not yet complete, the Center has reclaimed enough square cubits of its workspace to be able to mount a production upstairs in the actual theatre. The Grand Reopening is planned for next Friday, October 21, when Up in One Productions will present their first performance of a two-weekend run of The Diary of Anne Frank, under the direction of Diana di Grandi.

It’s one thing to read about the grand sweep of history as it affects millions of people, but quite another to experience it from the point of view of a particular individual. It was the discovery and publication of Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl that first truly brought home the horrors of life under Nazi occupation to the average American who didn’t serve abroad during World War II. Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett’s stage adaptation of Frank’s memoir was a sensation when it hit Broadway in 1955, winning both a Tony for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It ran for more than a year and was made into a successful film in 1959.

The Diary of Anne Frank will be performed at the Center at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, October 21 and 22 and on Friday, October 28; please note that there will be no performance on Saturday, October 29. Sunday matinees will also be presented at 3 p.m. on October 23 and 30. Ticket prices are $22 general admission, $20 for seniors and $16 for students through 12th grade. You can order tickets online at www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?e=49acbaf4e74e60d22c3125b39f2b0048&t=tix, or purchase them at the Center box office at (845) 876-3080. Box-office hours are from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck is located at 661 Route 308. For more information about this and other upcoming productions, or how you can donate to the theatre renovation fund, visit centerforperformingarts.org.