WICA Presents FROST/NIXON, Now thru 6/23

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts Theater Series presents Frost/Nixon, a play by Peter Morgan, opened June 8 and runs through June 23, 2012, showsat 7:30 and 2:00 PM, directed by Richard Evans.

WICA presents important play about America’s history and poignant moment in time. Frost/Nixon is the story of the historic encounter between British talk-show host David Frost, who had become a lowbrow laughing-stock and Richard M. Nixon who had just resigned the United States presidency in total disgrace over Vietnam and the Watergate scandal. Determined to resurrect his career, Frost risks everything on a series of in-depth interviews in order to extract an apology from Nixon. The cagey Nixon, however, is equally bent on redeeming himself in his nation's eyes. Nixon intended to easily outfox Frost, but as cameras rolled, a chargEd Battle of wits resulted. In the television age, image is king, and both men are desperate to out-talk and upstage each other as the cameras roll. The result is the interview that sealed a president's legacy.

The Frost/Nixon cast includes Ken Church (Richard Nixon), Jim Scullin (David Frost), Jim Carroll, Steve Ford, ElizaBeth Grant, Mikkel Hustad, Kira Keeney, Michael Morgen, Darcy Noonan, Adam Schults, Steve Smith, Tristan A.B. Steel, Bob Thurmond, Dwight Zehm, Don Zontine, Miles Harrison, and Rob Harrison.

Frost/Nixon is directed by Richard Evans, who also directed Crime X2, and the Island Theater Production of Glengarry Glen Ross.

Evans says, “I see the form of Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon as acutely aligned with its content, a play reflecting a time of chaos within a tightly organized frame. In other words, a play presented in a fundamentally traditional theatrical form, but rife with conflicting values—the tragedy of Vietnam and Cambodia, Nixon's long-standing refusal to admit his role in the Watergate scandal, and the subsequent disintegration of an already weakened trust in government. The play is symmetrical and thus presents for me a challenge in dynamics—finding a key for The Players to unlock history and rock and roll, tilt one way, then another, mirroring reality while retaining clarity of content. With another election in view, Frost/Nixon could not be more timely. Frost/Nixon opens at WICA June 8th, boasting the finest cast and crew I've had the good fortune to work with since directing Glengarry Glen Ross. Featuring Jim Scullin as David Frost and Ken Church as Richard Nixon, Peter Morgan's acclaimed play visits a famously disruptive era in American history. In his struggle to humanize the participants in our nation's disgrace, Morgan's look back in anger provides a timely opportunity for reassessment of our current political circus, the system and its values. Speaking as one who has spent a great deal of his life in a land of make-believe, I recognize a terrible symbiosis between politics and theatre. At times destructive, at best a creative playground for the imagination—this unholy union is always a reminder of my own flawed nature. As for political agendas and what passes for transparency? I say, don't buy the package until you know what's inside. If you have trouble removing the wrapper, tear it open!”

Frost/Nixon is supported, in part, by a grant from the Washington State Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Whidbey Island Center for the Arts is located at 565 Camano Ave., Langley, WA. FROST/NIXON runs June 8 – 23, 2012, Fri & Sat @ 7.30 PM; Sun @ 2 PM.

TICKETS: Adult $16, Senior/Military $14, Youth $12. All Seats $12 on Sunday matinee. For info call the WICA ticket office 360/221.8268 or 800/638.7631.

For more information, call WICA, 360/221.8268 or 800/638.7631 or visit wicaonline.com.

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