LITTLE ROCK — As solemn radio announcers used to say, “Return with us now to the days of ....” And here we would be tempted to change the wording to “people not shouting at each other, but instead talking in measured tones, making thoughtful replies and not interrupting each other.”
Such were the days of Frost/Nixon, a drama about the maneuvering behind the scenes leading up to and then the actual 1977 interview between British TV talk show host David Frost and former President Richard M. Nixon. Nixon had resigned three years earlier to avoid probable removal from office after having been tied to events that began with what his press secretary had called “a third-rate burglary.”
When the Watergate scandal occurred, the June 1972 burglary of Democratic offices in the complex soon was linked to Republican operatives, although it had no effect on Nixon’s re-election campaign later that year. After a little more than two years, as audiotapes of conversations in Nixon’s office came to light, the president gave up his fight to retain his job. His successor, Gerald Ford, pardoned Nixon, which likely contributed to Ford losing his own bid to stay in the White House.
Though driven from office, Nixon always maintained hopes of rehabilitating his image, leading him to consider offers from various journalists for in-depth interviews, which led to Frost’s selection as the chosen one. The drama of not just the interview, but also of how all those involved came together, forms the basis of Peter Morgan’s play, which premiered in August 2006 in London.
In 2008, the story of Frost and Nixon became a movie, bringing together both of the stage actors: Frank Langella as Nixon and Michael Sheen as Frost.
The play’s director, Gilbert McCauley, is no stranger to Arkansas Rep audiences. He has also directed James Still’s Looking Over the President’s Shoulder, Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play and August Wilson’s Fences at the Rep.
“I remember watching the Watergate hearings as a kid, but I was old enough to understand what was going on,” McCauley says. “It was kind of high-drama in a way, and since I like coming to the Rep, the chance to do this show stuck out when Italked to [Producing Artistic Director] Bob Hupp about his [forthcoming] shows.” The cast features Brad Heberlee as Frost and Keith Langsdale as Nixon.
“I’ve listened to a lot of Frost’s TV shows and checked out a lot of his work,” Heberlee says. “I’m Las Vegan, not English, so that’s certainly a challenge.”
And taking on the persona of Nixon is no easy task.
“Doing the role of Richard Nixon is a pretty daunting thing,” Langsdale says. “He was a pretty complex person, and I’ve been spending a lot of time immersing myself in his writings, and what others had to say about him. I’m not doing an impersonation of Nixon - that’s Rich Little’s territory. This is about the essence of the man, what he put himself and the whole country through.”
The play’s other two crucial actors are Mark Irish as James Reston Jr., a journalist who helped prepare Frost for his interviews, and David Sitler as Jack Brennan, Nixon’s post-resignation chief of staff, who worked to protect the interests of his employer. The two actors share a lot of narrator duties in the play.
“David and I are from opposite camps,” Irish notes. “Frost came from the moreliberal way of thinking, where there was the tendency to attack Nixon, so we felt we had to work to make sure the interviews were more significant, that they meant something.”
“The play is a great ‘David and Goliath’ story,” Sitler says.
“The back story of what goes on is what makes for great drama.” Heberlee notes that the Nixon camp chose Frost perhaps for his background, seeing him as less than a threat than 60 Minutes, which also bid for the right to the interviews.
“Frost was primarily thought of as an entertainer,” Heberlee says. “He was more of a comedian, and a part of the ‘jet set’ media of those days.”
Sitler, speaking as Brennan, puts it more bluntly: “Frost was thought of as a bit of a lightweight.”
McCauley, however, comes to Frost’s defense: “He had interviewed several heads of state, so this was not out of his comfort zone. Nixon was a president the American people had gotten to know through the medium of TV, and Frost uses this to his advantage. The playwright has a lot to say about TV and how it manipulates our thinking.”
Others in the cast are Mauricio Leyton as Manolo Sanchez, Nancy Noto as EvonneGoolagong, Jason O’Connell as Frost researcher Robert Zelnick, Jay E. Raphael as Swifty Lazar, David Volin as John Birt and Adria Vitlar as Caroline Cusher.
Frost/Nixon Friday through May 9; performances at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and Thursday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Sixth and Main streets, Little Rock Performance for the hearingimpaired: 7 p.m. Wednesday (April 28 only) Tickets: $40, $35, $25 and $20 (501) 378-0405, (866) 684-3737, www.therep.org
Weekend, Pages 36 on 04/22/2010