(Above: Damon Noyes, left, plays David Frost in VLT’s Frost/Nixon. On the right is Mike Hawkins, in the role of Richard Nixon)
By Randi Bjornstad
It might seem like a slim premise for a play, but back in the late 1970s, the on-air meeting of British TV personality David Frost and disgraced-and-resigned-from-office Richard Nixon captivated the viewing public.
In the unlikely matchup following the Watergate scandal that had rocked the country, both participants had fallen on hard times. Frost’s longtime cachet as an urbane erudite Britisher had declined with changing tastes in television programming, and Nixon was bent on refurbishing his own destroyed reputation as an honest and formidable leader of the free world.
That meant the two came to the stage in 1977 in a kind of duel, each determined to succeed for his own personal ends, which the New York Times summed up in saying, “the competitor who controls the camera reaps the spoils.”
No wonder, then, that the joust would become a play, Frost/Nixon, and that in these turbulent political times it would seem appropriate to examine the past and see if any of its lessons might be applicable to what sometimes seems to be current political chaos.
The Very Little Theatre has taken on the challenge in its last show of its 89th season, with Darryl Marzyck directing his interpretation of Frost/Nixon.
In announcing the show, Marzyck’s director’s statement said, “In this chaotic time, it’s good to look back on our nation’s history to see what it can help illuminate about today’s situation. Frost/Nixon allows us to look at the complexity that was the man, Richard Nixon. No matter which view of him you take, Richard Nixon is the stuff that Greek tragedies are made of.”
In the VLT production, which runs Aug. 10 to 25, Mike Hawkins portrays Richard Nixon, with Damon Noyes as David Frost.
Additional players include Blake Beardsley as Jim Reston, Daniel Squire as Jack Brennan, Samantha Cross as Caroline Cushing, David Smith as John Birt, and Larry Fried as Bob Zelnick. Rounding out the cast are John White, Steven Shipman, Aaron Conover, Shane Gunn, Mary Keating, and Tom Laird.
Director Marzyck also designed the sets, with costumes by Nancy Boyett, lighting by Mark Shapiro, and projection and sound by Tim Rogers.
Frost died in 2013 on board the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth, where he was scheduled to give a speech. The headline of the New York Times’ obituary credited Frost with being “the interviewer who got Nixon to ap0logize for Watergate.”
Nixon died at the age of 81 in 1994. He resigned the presidency of the United States on Aug. 9, 1974.
Frost/Nixon
When: 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 10-11, 16-18, 23-25; matinees at 2 p.m. on Aug. 12 and 19
Where: Very Little Theatre, 2350 Hilyard St., Eugene
Tickets: $19 regular, $15 for senior citizens and students and for all Thursday performances; available in advance at the box office, 541-344-7751, from 2 p.m. to 6y p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; or online at TheVLT.com
Details: Assisted-listening devices available on a first-come basis
