[NEohioPAL] Berko review: NIXON'S NIXON (ACTORS' SUMMIT) & LAR LUBOVITCH PREVIEW

[Roy Berko]

‘NIXON’S
NIXON’— a probe into the past at ACTORS’ SUMMIT; Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
 
Roy Berko
 
(Member,
American Theatre Critics Association)
 
--THE TIMES
NEWSPAPERS--
 
Lorain
County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times  
 
COOLCLEVELAND.COM
 
Russell Lees'
‘NIXON’S NIXON,’ now on stage at Actors’ Summit, is a historical docudrama
which imagines the conversation that might have taken place when then-President
Richard Nixon summoned Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to the White House on
August 7, 1974.  This was the night
before Nixon resigned from the Presidency due to the Watergate scandal.   Though no one, except the two men
knows the content of their conversation, Lees imagines that the duo relived
past glories, conjured up their political legacies, and wrestled with their
personal insecurities. 
 
The
ninety-minute play, performed without an intermission, is at times compelling,
while at other times gets a little tedious.  At times it is humorous, at  times humorless.
 
We see a Nixon
who alternates between being desperate, shrewd, paranoid, but, most important,
utterly baffled by the situation in which he finds himself.  How could his “friends” be demanding
his resignation?  How could his
loyal public not come to his side, like Napoleon’s former warriors did when he
returned from exile?  This is a man
who is on the brink of a total psychological melt-down.  No sooner does one thought come into
his head than another arrives before he has fully articulated the first. His
language is obscene. His always inept smile, his inability to see reality, is
present.
Kissinger,
who starts off as a statesman who sees reality, but soon falls prey to his  ego and desire to continue to be at the
hub of the US foreign policy, starts conceiving illogical plots to save the
duo.  His fertile imagination
includes various "Dr. Strangelove"-like possibilities including
starting a war on the Russian-Chinese border.
 
Unfortunately,
Lees fails to build all the needed tension of the high-stakes poker game he’s
set up. The script often meanders.
 
Though both
A. Neil Thackaberry (Nixon) and George Roth (Kissinger) are generally
excellent, there are times when the portrayals need some polishing and a
reality check.  For example, Roth
continually hides his head in his hands looking very child like.  This would work if his actions
following this departure from his usual logical control, were more keyed.  His accent comes and goes.  Thackaberry often misses the maniacal
look that Nixon had, foreshadowing one of his deceptive actions.  His body, complete with the traditional
almost cartoon like gestures, sometimes loses the image.  The “tricky Dickey” is only there part
time.
 
The
production yells for a keen eye to detail and the needed frenetic pacing to
highlight Nixon’s closeness to being totally out of touch with reality and
Kissinger’s near desperation, the qualities that garnered critical claim in
its  New York run.  
 
Things are
not helped by director Constance Thackaberry’s direction.  Part of the problem may be the
director’s youth.  As she indicates
in the program, the era and the characters were a historical discovery for
her.  Maybe someone who had lived
through the Nixon days might have had a clearer awareness of the almost bipolar
swings of the man and the tension of the era.  And, her lack of directing background may also come into
play here as the eye for detail is often missing.
 
CAPSULE
JUDGEMENT: “NIXON’S NIXON’ is a good exposé of the Nixon era.  The production, though sometimes slow,
is interesting, if not compelling, and is worth a go-to for those interested in
historical events and political intrigue.
 
‘NIXON’S
NIXON’ runs through November 9 at Actors’ Summit, 86 Owen Brown Street,
Hudson.  For tickets call
330-342-0800.
 
LAR LUBOVITCH
DANCE COMPANY
 Dance Cleveland and Cuyahoga Community College present the Lar Lubovitch
Dance Company on Saturday, November 1 at the Ohio Theatre.  Over the past 39 years, the company has
gained a reputation as one of the world's top-ranked modern dance
companies.   Lar Lubovitch has
been cited by The New York Timesas "one of the ten best
choreographers in the world," and the company has been called a
"national treasure" by Variety.  For tickets,
which start at $20, call 216-241-6000 or go to playhousesquare.com. 

 Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2008, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info

His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and NeOHIOpal (to subscribe visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.)