Frost Nixon and Legally Blonde

I saw Frost Nixon, a play, at the matinee today. It’s based on the David Frost interviews of Nixon and the deal leading up to them. The play was brilliant. Frank Langella was channeling Nixon. It must be fun to play someone that is such a distinctive character. He’s got him down really well. Michael Sheen plays Frost and while watching him play his character, you can’t help but think of a real life Austin Powers. The drama surrounding the deal is very stage-worthy and the conclusion is nothing less than brilliant. I really hope this tours but I fear that without a big star like Langella in the lead, it won’t draw. Time will tell.

Legally Blonde is exactly how musicals should be. There should be half a dozen shows a year like this one, full of great music, great production numbers, characters you can love getting the upper hand of characters you can hate, and a compelling fun story full of twists and turns with tons of laughs thrown in. It’s just a delightful and playfully fun show. For amateur stock companies, in about 20 years this show will be the Guys and Dolls or Kiss Me Kate for its time – a perfect show for a season in Lodi California or Toledo Ohio. This is basically a good old fashioned, fun loving musical. And I love the Greek Chorus, a little weird but the audience had no problem going there with the story so it just added to the fun.

One more show tomorrow. I’m seeing Tarzan. It wasn’t really on my list but it’s the only show with an early Matinee. Most Sunday mats in NY are at 3:00. My plane is at 6. This show is at 1 and is out by 3:30 so I can see the show and still make my plane. And Disney tends to tour everything it does so there’s a good chance we might see this in San Diego someday so its worth seeing it anyway. The buzz is that this one is poor but I’ll give you my opinions when I get back to San Diego and can write again.