Tues. Jan. 27 - Sun. Feb. 8

"Frost/Nixon" the movie is up for best picture and "Frost/Nixon," Peter Morgan's play, was a hit on Broadway. It is now on the road. Specifically, in town, at the Colonial Theatre Tuesday Jan. 27 - Sun. Feb. 8. Was Nixon the most evil president ever? Stacy Keach, who takes over the role (and must live up to Frank Langella's portrayal) calls him "satantic," when we talked, but also noted, compared to the Bush 43 reign, he might be seen as a hero. (Keach, by the way, played preacher to Josh Brolin's George W. Bush in Oliver Stone's "W.") Alan Cox co-stars as British talk show host David Frost. Anyway, I've got a fun interview with Keach in the Boston Phoenix's TJI section, dated Jan. 23 - or on line at www.thephoenix.com. Please check it out. But space was limited for the section and there was some good stuff we couldn't get in. So, we'll do that here.

JSink: Doesn’t Nixon need explaining to a younger generation that wasn’t there?
Keach: You’re absolutely right, but that’s one of the virtues of the play in this respect. The narrative of the story does not presume that any member of the audience knows what was going on. It spells everything out in very shorthand terms. And doesn’t linger too long. The lingering is saved for Nixon’s diatribes and his selective memory. The boxing match that is occurring is between him and David Frost, and it’s played like a boxing match.

JSInk: My understanding is the play uses transcripts from the TV shows, but they are re-arranged and edited.
Keach: Correct. It’s a revisionist version of history. [In real life] he never apologizes, but what we have is what I call “the apology” or the confessional in that last scene. He takes that step. And in earlier scenes, like in the opening scene, you see all this bizarre behavior before he gave the speech in front of the makeup crew and camera guys. Morgan depicted that behavior. It’s like the overture, with all the colors of his emotional instability, his paranoia and his patronizing attitude, the sleazy aspect to his character. The task becomes how do you start there and win the audience over and convince them of his humanity?

JSInk: Ok, how? Where do you find that?
Keach: He’s a family man. As far as his own personal characteristics, I find his self-deprecating humor was very endearing to me. Also the degree of his off-centered passion for respect from others which all comes out of the phone call to David Frost in the middle of the night when he’s drunk. It’s a turning point, a pivotal point in the story, the most important moment in terms of allowing us to see what’s going on. I identify with all of those things he’s feeling. To the extent that he would jeopardize the country … nevertheless I find those human characteristics, which are empathetic.

JSInk: Back in the day, when it was airing live, I wasn’t that riveted. I just felt “get on with it, move off the stage.”
Keach: Because you know what the end is going to be. Also, I think when the interviews were done, we were in a time when the rhythms of life and technology were totally different. The editing, the dynamics were slower. One thing you get from the play is the whole leitmotif of how television controls and manipulates our sensibilities and biases, and causes us to look at people a certain way. It’s the medium through which image is projected. Television is a major theme in the theatrical production. Seeing things on the monitor, you’re watching it like a rock concert or sporting event. That’s what live audiences are used to today, a live situation that’s on the screen somewhere. The way Michael Grandage directed the play, the monitor is behind the action, so your eye has to go through the live action in order to get to the monitor. It starts with wide shots and split screens. We don’t go close-up until the last moment. The televised and live experience simultaneously, that’s worth the price of admission,

Which ranges from $85-$31. It's up Tues-Thurs at 7:30, Fri - Sun at 8, with Sat. and Sun. matinees at 2.

106 Boylston St., 617-931-2787 www.broadwayacrossamerica.com