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Diary of Anne Frank - with Chris Tucker
Getting Frank with Tucker
BOSTON, MA - Perhaps the last person you can think of having a role in
a stage production of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, is
Chris Tucker. In a remarkable change from the usually traditional approach to a young woman's growing up under Nazi occupation, Tucker commands an interesting
role in a perhaps risky undertaking. Former auteur of the women's prison genre, Tom Desimone, mans the directors helm and has
pieced together a modern retelling of the usually sober story of a young girl's
coming of age and eventual demise. "Tucker plays the part of Fritz Pfeffer, the dentist
who Anne dislikes so much." Desimone says. "Previous stage productions I've seen didn't seem to accentuate their
relationship other than the same plodding devices used again and again. I wanted to break
from the script. I also wanted to enhance the tension of the annex's "quiet" times during the daytime by casting someone
who is notoriously loud." Indeed when Fritz (Tucker) enters the Secret Annex two weeks after the
Franks have grown accustomed to their daily rules to safeguard their well-being, it is a bit
unnerving to witness Tucker entering the room and asking in a very loud voice "All right, who gots
the weed in this mother fucker?" During one scene where the impeccably quaint Miep Gies, one of the protectors of the Frank family, brings food and news to the residents
of the annex, Tucker exclaims "Who's that fine bitch there at the door?" Then he puts down the bong after sucking up a massive hit and tries to see around Anne's frame. "Whatcha hiding there?
Step aside - Annetana, I'm working on bootytime here." Finally he makes it around Anne, sees Miep and blows out his hit. "Damn. Nice legs, what time do they open?"
Shannon Elizabeth as Miep Gies
Desimone says he was looking for an actress who could capture the spirit of Dyanne
Thorne from Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS when he cast
Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie) as Miep Gies. Adding an extra layer of controversy
to the already inflammatory production is the scene where Miep brings
news wearing a short leather mini, red thigh high boots and a loosely
buttoned white shirt that is tied above the navel at the bottom. A subsequent implied anal sex scene between Tucker's Pfeffer character and Elizabeth's Miep has Jewish groups
calling for an end to the production.
"I think this is a more exciting contemporary version of the play.
Sure there probably wasn't any anal sex happening in the Secret
Annex but I'm taking creative license here." Desimone says defensively.
"There isn't sound in space but everyone gets a hardon watching
x-wing/tie fighter battles in Star Wars. I'm simply
making certain parts of this play more watchable."
Tucker himself has appreciated the opportunity to be in the play.
"All the pot I smoke on stage is real - Desimone
insisted it be that way. I always wondered what was up with that
diary when I was young. Here they were in Amsterdam but no one was
eating brownies or sparking up a fat blunt. I would have called
up a couple ho's to score me some stinkbud on a daily basis if I
was stuck in that place."
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