Tonight while I was stranded in New York I decided to take a moment to forget the travel struggles and enjoy some theater. I had heard on MPR back home about Frost/Nixon (wikipedia link as well), and I was really intrigued. I had sort of forgotten about it since I didn’t think I would get an opportunity to go. Earlier on this trip though I had walked by the Jacobs Theatre and saw it listed and it had stuck with me. So, tonight when I was struggling with flight delays that turned into cancellations, I decided to go see if I could get in the 8:00pm show. A quick taxi ride and I grabbed a nice ticket on the main floor for one.

I didn’t know the story behind Frost/Nixon until I had heard it recounted on the radio. The headline is David Frost, with an entertainment background (as opposed to journalism) gets these interviews with Nixon after he’s resigned the presidency by paying Nixon a lot of money. The play explores how both men were hoping to save or recover their careers through these interviews. Nixon to show he was innocent. Frost to show he was a serious talent. Battle played through debate, and only one could win. Nixon lost.

The play is very well done. They intermix video and sound very well. Michael Sheen (David Frost) and Frank Langella (Richard Nixon) are just amazing. Langella does something that was a first for me – he does close-up “TV” acting at the same time he’s doing stage acting. Really impressive. I’d recommend it to anyone.