Frost/Nixon (play)

Frost/Nixon
Original poster
Written by	Peter Morgan
Characters	David Frost Richard Nixon
Date premiered	2006
Place premiered	Donmar Warehouse, London
Original language	English
Subject	The Frost/Nixon interviews
Genre	Drama
IBDB profile

Frost/Nixon is a 2006 British play by screenwriter and dramatist Peter Morgan based on a series of televised interviews that former U.S. President Richard Nixon granted broadcaster David Frost in 1977 about his administration, including his role in the Watergate scandal.

Performance history

The play premiered at the Donmar Warehouse theatre in London in August 2006, directed by Michael Grandage and starring Michael Sheen as the talk-show host and Frank Langella as the former president. Frost/Nixon received enthusiastic reviews in the British press. It then played at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End, again starring Langella and Sheen.

On March 31, 2007, the play began previews on Broadway. It officially opened as a limited engagement at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on April 22 and closed on August 19, after 137 performances. The cast included Langella, Sheen, Remy Auberjonois (John Birt), Shira Gregory (Evonne Goolagong), Corey Johnson (Jack Brennan), Stephen Kunken (James Reston Jr.), Stephen Rowe (Swifty Lazar/Mike Wallace), Triney Sandoval (Manolo Sanchez), Armand Schultz (Bob Zelnick) and Sonya Walger (Caroline Cushing).

The TimeLine Theatre Company in Chicago ran the play from August 21 to October 10, 2010.^[1][2]

In regional theatre, Frost/Nixon made its Ohio premiere at the Rabbit Run Theatre in Madison, Ohio. The U.S. Rocky Mountain regional premiere was directed and designed by John Thornberry for Longmont Theatre Company in Longmont, Colorado, and ran from November 4 to 19, 2011.

Awards and nominations

Tony Awards

• Best Play (Peter Morgan) (nominated)
• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play (Frank Langella) Winner
• Best Direction of a Play (Michael Grandage) (nominated)

Drama Desk Awards

• Outstanding New Play (Peter Morgan) (nominated)
• Outstanding Actor in a Play (Frank Langella) Winner
• Outstanding Director of a Play (Michael Grandage) (nominated)
• Outstanding Music (Adam Cork) (nominated)

Drama League Awards

• Distinguished Production of a Play (nominated)
• Distinguished Performance (Stephen Kunken) (nominated)
• Distinguished Performance (Michael Sheen) (nominated)

Outer Critics Circle Award

• Outstanding Broadway Play (nominated)
• Outstanding Actor in a Play (Frank Langella) Winner
• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Stephen Kunken) (nominated)
• Outstanding Direction of a Play (Michael Grandage) (nominated)
• Outstanding Lighting Design (Neil Austin) (nominated)

Feature film

Ron Howard directed a film adaptation of the play.^[3] The film was produced by Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Films for Universal Pictures. Shooting began on August 27, 2007.^[4] Langella and Sheen reprised their roles for the film.

References

External links

• Official sites:
  • The Original Interviews Website
  • London production
• Frost/Nixon at the Internet Broadway Database
• Michael Billington, "Frost/Nixon", The Guardian,(London) 22 August 2006
• Paul Taylor, "Frost/Nixon, Donmar Warehouse, London: Closing shots convey the drama of a TV classic", The Independent (London), 22 August 2006
• Charles Spencer, "Brief but gripping encounters", The Telegraph (London), 23 August 2006
• Benedict Nightingale, "Frost/Nixon", The Times Online (London), 22 August 2006
• Ben Brantley, "When David Faced a Wounded Goliath", The New York Times, 23 April 2007 (Broadway production)
• TimeLine Theatre Company, Chicago: Frost/Nixon Study Guide Retrieved 2011-10-02

v t e Richard Nixon 37th President of the United States (1969–1974) 36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961) U.S. Senator from California (1950–1953) U.S. Representative from California (1947–1950) Life and politics Birthplace and boyhood home Checkers speech Kitchen Debate "Last press conference" Nixon Presidential Library Nixon Foundation Nixon Center "La Casa Pacifica" Death and funeral Presidency Economic policies Vietnam War "Peace with Honor" Silent majority Cold War period Nixon Doctrine "Bring Us Together" Visit to China Détente Linkage Watergate Judicial appointments Books Six Crises RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (autobiography) The Real War Leaders Real Peace No More Vietnams 1999: Victory Without War In the Arena: A Memoir of Victory, Defeat, and Renewal Seize the Moment: America's Challenge in a One-Superpower World Beyond Peace Biographical works Elections California's 12th congressional district election, 1946 United States House of Representatives elections, 1948 United States Senate election in California, 1950 1952 Republican National Convention United States presidential election, 1952 1956 Republican National Convention United States presidential election, 1956 Republican Party presidential primaries, 1960 1960 Republican National Convention United States presidential election, 1960 California gubernatorial election, 1962 Republican Party presidential primaries, 1964 Richard Nixon presidential campaign, 1968 Republican Party presidential primaries, 1968 1968 Republican National Convention United States presidential election, 1968 Republican Party presidential primaries, 1972 1972 Republican National Convention United States presidential election, 1972 Popular culture The Frost-Nixon Interviews (play, film) Nixon in China (opera) Nixon (film) Nixon goes to China (phrase) Nixon in film and TV Family Thelma "Pat" Ryan Nixon (wife) Tricia Nixon Cox (daughter) Julie Nixon Eisenhower (daughter) Frank Nixon (father) Hannah Nixon (mother) Donald Nixon (brother) Edward Nixon (brother) Donald A. Nixon (nephew) Christopher Nixon Cox (grandson) Jennie Eisenhower (granddaughter) ← Lyndon B. Johnson Gerald Ford →