Director Steven Woolf's production began at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in late August. There have been several cast changes since the Missouri run, and some readjustments for Geva's proscenium stage (the Rep is a thrust house). An intermission has been added for the upstate New York run.
The play about the negotiations and personalities surrounding the famous 1977 TV interviews between celebrity interviewer David Frost and disgraced former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon features Keith Jochim as Richard Nixon, Jeff Talbott as David Frost, Jim Wisniewski as Jim Reston, Jeremy Holm as Jack Brennan, Keith Merrill as John Birt, David Anzuelo as Manolo Sanchez, Matt Landers as Swifty Lazar, Celeste Ciulla (new to the staging) as Frost's girlfriend Caroline Cushing and David Christopher Wells as Bob Zelnick, with Rochester actors Margaret Folwell as Evonne Goolagong, Doug Kester as Frank Gannen and Teri Madonna, H. Ted Limpert, Michael Frishman and Michael Sheehan as White House and television staff.
Geva and the Rep are the first regional theatres to stage the award-winning play, which premiered at London's Donmar Warehouse (directed by Michael Grandage) starring Frank Langella as Nixon and Michael Sheen as Frost before transferring to the Gielgud Theatre in the West End. In 2007 Sheen and Langella reprised their roles on Broadway. They star in the film version, directed by Ron Howard, due for release in December 2008.
A Grandage-directed national tour is currently playing engagements across the country, with Stacy Keach as Nixon. A resident Toronto production is currently at Canadian Stage Company, with Len Cariou as Nixon.
The Geva design team includes Michael Schweikardt (scenic designer), Elizabeth Covey (costume designer), Mary Jo Dondlinger (lighting designer), Rusty Wandall (sound designer), Eric Woolsey (video designer) and Bobby Miller (video consultant). Morgan's script for "The Queen," a feature film for which Helen Mirren received the 2008 Best Actress Oscar, was nominated for an Academy Award.
Opening night for Geva's Frost/Nixon is Oct. 25. Performances continue to Nov. 16.
For more information call (585) 232-GEVA or visit www.gevatheatre.org.
Geva Theatre Center is located at 75 Woodbury Blvd., Rochester, NY.
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Geva Theatre Center was founded in 1972, and attracts over 160,000 patrons annually, including more than 16,000 students. The 552-seat Elaine P. Wilson Mainstage offers a wide variety of shows, from musicals to American and world classics. The 180-seat Ron & Donna Fielding Nextstage is home to Geva's own series of cutting-edge drama, comedy and musical theatre; Geva Comedy Improv; Geva's New Play Reading Series and the Hornet's Nest — an innovative play-reading series facilitating community-wide discussion on controversial topics. The Nextstage also hosts visiting companies of both local and international renown.
For the past thirteen years the organization has been led by artistic director Mark Cuddy.
