Three-time Dora Award winner Ted Dykstra (Canadian Stage's Fire) directs Tony Award winner Cariou (Sweeney Todd) and Dora Award winner Storch (The Lonesome West).
Frost/Nixon had its Canadian premiere Sept. 18 in Vancouver. Opening night at the Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto is Oct. 16.
*
The 2007 Tony Award-nominated play by Morgan, award-winning screenwriter of author of "The Last King of Scotland" and "The Queen," chronicles the planning and execution of the famous post-Watergate, post-resignation interviews between celebrity interviewer Frost and disgraced U.S. president Richard M. Nixon.
"Frost/Nixon has never been more relevant than it is today in the waning days of the Bush administration. There are strikingly parallel themes between the play and the current political landscape," stated Canadian Stage artistic producer Martin Bragg. "I can't wait for audiences to experience this visceral thrill ride through one of the most hard-fought political interviews in history." The Frost/Nixon cast also features Ari Cohen as Jim Reston, Tom McBeath as Jack Brennan, Damien Atkins as John Birt, Andrea Runge as Caroline Cushing, Michael Healey as Bob Zelnick, Alec Willows as Swifty Lazar, Shaker Paleja as Manolo Sanchez, Edwina Cheer as Evonne Goolagong, David Bloom as Mike Wallace/Floor Director and Lissa Neptuno as Makeup Lady/Waitress.
The creative team includes Patrick Clark (set and costume designer), Alan Brodie (lighting designer), Jamie Nesbitt (video designer), with sound design and original music by Creighton Doane. Rick Rinder is the stage manager, and Marinda De Beer is the assistant stage manager.
The play was a hit in London and on Broadway in a premiere directed by Michael Grandage. Frank Langella won the Best Actor Tony Award for playing Nixon on Broadway, opposite Michael Sheen. Both had played their roles in London and repeated their work for the Ron Howard film version, to be released in late 2008.
Frost/Nixon is currently on a U.S. national tour (directed by Grandage) starring Stacy Keach as Nixon.
The play had its American regional premiere at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in August in a co-production with Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, NY, where it plays Oct. 21-Nov. 16.
Cariou is a Tony Award-winning Broadway veteran, originally from Winnipeg. He is best known for creating the roles of the Fredrik Egerman in A Little Night Music (Tony Award nomination) and title role in Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street opposite Angela Lansbury (Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award). Other Broadway roles include Applause with Lauren Bacall (Tony Award nomination), Nightwatch, Cold Storage, The Dinner Party and Proof with Anne Heche.
Storch is a Dora Award-winning actor who has worked with companies across the country, including the Alberta Theatre Projects, Theatre Calgary, Manitoba Theatre Centre, National Arts Centre, Citadel Theatre, Blyth Festival, Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Tarragon Theatre, Soulpepper Theatre Company and Neptune Theatre, among others. He is also a busy director. As an actor, he appeared in various Canadian Stage productions including Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde – A Love Story, Angels in America, Patience, Hysteria, The Lonesome West (for which he won a Dora Award), Amadeus, Take Me Out, Habeas Corpus and What Lies Before Us.
For Canadian Stage tickets and information, call (416) 368-3110 or canstage.com.
