Frost/Nixon

Belk Theater

Feb. 10, 2009

The Deal: Last night, Frost/Nixon opened in Charlotte at Belk Theater. The stars of the show were American actor Stacy Keach (who played the part of Richard Nixon) and British-born actor Alan Cox (who played the part of David Frost).

The Good: The play revolves around Nixon’s affairs and neglect while in The White House. It centers around talk show host David Frost’s attempt to stump Nixon into admitting the truth on national television during an interview with him on his show. Spending lots of time before the interview Frost prepares his questions with experts on Nixon. During the interview scene (also displayed on a screen above the stage) Nixon’s character is funny, with the know-how on beating around the bush and reminiscing. In the end, however Nixon clearly backs down, thus giving viewers the truth. The show was intriguing and a bit like a history lesson. For those of you shrugging right about now, I’ll add that a history lesson isn’t always a bad thing. Nixon’s character is one that those you love to hate and at the end you may even be left feeling a little sorry for him.

The Bad: As I mentioned before, this play is based on historical events pertaining to Richard Nixon and the television interview he did with David Frost. If you don’t dig that plot or your looking for some sort of love-story drama, this show might not be your forte.

The Verdict: Throughout the show, which did not feature an intermission, the acting was well-done and the plot in itself, which followed historical events was interesting, entertaining, funny and powerful. This play by Peter Morgan is worth seeing. Check it out, as performances continue to go down through Feb. 15.