monumental - a tour de force

 Frost/Nixon
 by Peter Morgan
 directed by Michael Grandage
 Frank Langella as Richard Nixon
 Michael Sheen as David Frost

 Through August 18
 Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
 242 W. 45th St.
 New York, NY
 

April 20, 2007 performance review by Sandy Michel

I traveled from the Berkshires to Broadway to witness a theatrical performance by an old favorite of mine, Frank Langella. I first saw him perform at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 1977 and even sat at the next table from him at the former British Maid restaurant.

The growth in Langella's stature as an actor is difficult to describe. I came to Broadway for Langella and got Nixon! The loping walk, the physical stature, the mumbled speech and gestures were of a defeated but brilliant and disgraced ex-President.

Immediately, I had to adjust my perception of what I was witnessing - a not-truly-factual time in our history, but still monumental - a tour de force.

Langella's Nixon is opposed in this larger-than-TV-life play by David Frost, played with brilliance equal to Langella's by Michael Sheen (who played Tony Blair in the movie, "The Queen").

Neither character is admirable nor heroic; each is flawed and clawing for survival.

Langella portrays Nixon as a brilliant, sharp-witted, paranoid man who wants to stay in power, no matter the cost or crime.

Sheen's Frost is weak, a little slovenly, not-too-bright, and falling from grace and stardom in the world of TV.

The riveting climax to this duel is a late-night phone call from a drunken President to discuss the nature of fame and power. Of course, this dramatic encounter is pure fiction. Although I did not root for either man, knowing the outcome, both Langella and Sheen are equals at acting.

Both parts are portrayed equally well, but Langella, as a drunk President in a blackout, gave a truly riveting and scary performance.

Other notable performances were Stephen Rowe as the journalist James Reston (whose latest book on Nixon will be out in May), and Corey Johnson as Nixon aide Jack Brennan.

No review of this dramatic masterpiece would be complete without mentioning the brilliant, youthful playwright Peter Morgan (scriptwriter of "The Queen"). Not tied down by historical reality, but instead he developed a highly successful theatrical piece.