Opening is Sept. 5, after previews. Performances play to Sept. 28. Rep artistic director Steven Woolf directs a cast that includes Keith Jochim as Richard Nixon and Jeff Talbott as David Frost, plus Michael Brightman as Ollie, Jim Wisniewski as Jim Reston, Steve Callahan as the Studio Manager, Jeremy Holm as Jack Brennan, Kelley Ryan as Evonne Goolagong, Keith Merrill as John Birt, David Anzuelo as Manolo Sanchez, Matt Landers as Swifty Lazar, Jenny Mercein as Caroline Cushing and David Christopher Wells as Bob Zelnick.
Frank Langella won a Best Actor Tony Award for his portrayal of fallen U.S. president Richard M. Nixon, who is wooed by British celebrity interviewer David Frost for a series of post-resignation chats. The play flirts with the ideas of legacy, reputation, politics, celebrity, persona and "serious" journalism.
Michael Sheen played a swaggering Frost in London and on Broadway; both Langella and Sheen star in the Ron Howard-directed film, being released this fall. A national tour of the play, starring Stacy Keach, launches Sept. 30 in Iowa.
Rep performances of Frost/Nixon — billed as "the fast-paced and fascinating story of what happened both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes of one of the most-watched television news interviews in history" — will be at the Browning Mainstage of the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, 130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves, MO.
Frost/Nixon is a co-production with Geva Theatre in Rochester, NY, where the play will appear in October-November. The creative team includes Michael Schweikardt (scenic designer), Elizabeth Covey (costume designer), Mary Jo Dondlinger (lighting designer), Rusty Wandall (sound designer), Eric Woolsey (video designer), Bobby Miller (video consultant), Glenn Dunn (stage manager) and Shannon B. Sturgis (assistant stage manager).
Frost/Nixon premiered in 2006 at London's Donmar Warehouse before transferring to a run at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End. In 2007 it played a limited Broadway engagement at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York City.
The play was honored with the Olivier Award, the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations for Best Play.
British screenwriter and dramatist Morgan first achieved notoriety with his script for "The Deal," a 2003 television drama about Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown. He received an Oscar nomination for "The Queen," the 2006 film starring Helen Mirren showing the impact of Princess Diana's death on the British royal family. His current projects include a screen adaptation of John le Carré's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and a film sequel to "The Queen" focusing on Tony Blair's relationship with U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
The Rep's production of Frost/Nixon is part of the 2008 St. Louis Political Theatre Festival. From August through November, 12 St. Louis-area theatre companies will present 15 productions involving themes of politics and power. For more information about the St. Louis Political Theatre Festival, visit www.newlinetheatre.com/stlptf.html.
For more information call (314) 968-4925 or visit The Rep's online box office at www.repstl.org.
