News4U Online

The year was 1977. English TV showman and journalist David Frost sat down for a series of television interviews with the disgraced former president Richard Nixon. While some may not agree with the usage of that particular word, I say “disgraced” in the nicest possible way – the only way one should refer to a President whose liberal interpretations of the law on everything from illegal wiretapping of political enemies to conspiracy to commit burglary had caused his resignation from the office of President some three years prior. Excuse me, I must say “alleged” when referring to these subversive and criminal activities, after all, impeachment proceedings were thwarted by his sudden resignation, and he did receive a very thoughtful pardon of immunity from his former Vice President Gerald Ford for anything he “might” have done while in office. But, as per usual in discussions of politics, I digress…back to the David Frost interviews and their relevance to this article...

            So, David Frost the TV showman and Tricky Dicky sat down for a little mano-a-mano, a bit of one-on-one time in front of the cameras, and Dick jabbered away for a captivated home audience in the most languid possible way about everything from his relationship to Kissinger and their choice to “go into” (a nice way of saying “bomb the ever lovin’ crap out of”) Cambodia, to his dismay over the infamous Kent State incident, to, finally, a long-awaited, shocking admission that his political enemies were probably justified in their indictments of his administration. This “interview,” if one could call it that, stretched on for 28 hours over the course of 12 days. Needless to say, it was edited down to a more trim few hours for TV, in the same way all history is edited for TV, I suppose, because honestly, who besides Nixon himself would ever have the time or want to watch 28 hours of an interview or read the thousands of documents necessary to learn the truth?

            Now, thanks to English “Academy Award®”-nominated and “Golden Globe Award®”-winning screenwriter and playwright, Peter Morgan, who is also responsible for the Tony Blair applause factory The Queen (2006), and the nail-biter The Last King of Scotland (2006), history can further be condensed, repackaged, and microwaved for the single sitting theatrical audience – an important function in a day and age when few of us possess the attention spans to read an entire history book, or watch 28 hours of Richard Nixon interviews. The first Broadway performance of Frost/Nixon took place in April of last year and has been generally well received, so much so that now there is a Ron Howard production in the works starring Kevin Bacon, Michael Sheen, and Frank Langella to be released later this year.

ILLUSTRATION CREDIT | ALEX HUGHES

            The Peter Morgan play Frost/Nixon will be performed live at Owensboro’s RiverPark Center on September 26^th. The performance will be the first paid performance of the Frost/Nixon tour, and should offer a great jumping off point for those interested in learning more about the Watergate Scandal or Richard Nixon. It should also offer insight into the behind the scenes dynamics that led to one of the most stunning public admissions of guilt by any U.S. President. Television and movie star Stacy Keach – known to most from his television role as Mike Hammer Private Eye, known to me as the bumbling Sgt. Stedenko in Cheech and Chong’s Up In Smoke (1978) and Nice Dreams (1981) and the despicable neo-nazi leader, Cameron, in American History X (1998) – takes up where Frank Langella left off in the lead role as Nixon. Alan Cox, who played Dr. Watson in Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), will hold down the role of David Frost. Tickets can be reserved by visiting www.riverparkcenter.org or by calling (270) 687-2770.