1970s redux: Frost/Nixon at the Hobby Center

Frost/Nixon, presented by Broadway in Houston, plays at the Hobby Center through Nov. 2.

The Broadway in Houston feature now onstage at the Hobby Center, Frost/Nixon, doesn’t exactly have the sexiest title.

Frost – Cold. Icy. I think of the poet Robert Frost, a crusty old man whose poetry about paths and trees and weather was about as exciting to me as watching grass grow when I had to read his stuff in high school.

Nixon – One of the most loathed names among liberals in America. Political. Boring. Another crochety old man who could have absolutely nothing to say that interests me – particularly 30 years after the fact.

If I’m exposing myself as being a little shallow, so be it. I’m making a point, and that is despite all this, Frost/Nixon is not boring by a longshot. It’s pretty exciting and many times, even funny. I know!

The “Frost” in this story is not stodgy old Robert the poet (thankfully). It’s leisure-suited British TV personality David – the epitome of the swinging seventies. Portrayed by Alan Cox, Frost practically evokes the Carnaby Street jingle and “Yeah, baby!” whenever he steps onto the stage. Personality-wise, at least, he is a worthy adversary for Tricky Dick.

Nixon is played here by Stacy Keach, a big enough name to get a thunderous round of applause when he makes his first appearance. Keach is a stocky guy, and not as tall as Nixon (at least I don’t think he is), but he’s got the voice down. Within a few minutes, I’m totally sold on him as Nixon.

The play chronicles Frost’s attempt to win credibility among American audiences by securing Nixon’s first big TV interview after his resignation, and ultimately, getting Dick to admit his guilt. Since the play is based on actual events, I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by giving the ending away – Frost gets the confession he wants. But knowing that doesn’t make the journey to the end any less captivating.

Frost and Nixon each has his own team of advisors, and to some degree, these characters give the story its heart. On Frost’s side, much of the story is told through the narration and viewpoint of Jim Reston, a young political researcher who is even more hellbent on scoring Nixon’s confession than Frost. Reston – good-looking, jeans-clad and sporting some seriously hip ’70s hair - makes this story relatable to viewers who weren’t even alive in Nixon’s day. On the liberal side, anyway.

In Nixon’s camp, military aide Jack Brennan does most of the talking. Where Reston is the affable everyman, Brennan is button-down all the way – from the uniform he constantly wears to the control he tries to maintain over the former president. Not that he and Reston are all that different; they just come from different worlds.

The best moments are the ones in which Reston and Brennan’s opposing passions come to a boil – when Frost’s team practically crucifies him after his disastrous first sessions with Nixon; when, just as Frost has Nixon seconds away from an admittance of guilt, Brennan breaks into the taping with a desperate plea for Nixon to rethink what he’s about to say.

Frost and Nixon have their share of decent moments on their own, as well. A defeated Frost receives a surprise phone call from Nixon, who’s had a bit to drink, after a particularly grueling early interview. Both have let their guards down, and in this conversation, they are simply two men in times of crises. Who’s to say whether the conversation actually took place. It makes for a deeply humanizing moment in this story, something essential in a political climate a tense as this.

Oh! But the best part? OK, this is my shallow side revealing itself again. The music! The music used to transition between scenes is pure ’70s fantastic. Imagine a cross between the Three’s Company theme song and your run-of-the-mill porn soundtrack. It further cements the time setting and helps the action (which can drag at times) seem faster-paced and fun.

Playboy Frost certainly livens up Nixon’s story. In the end, this isn’t so much a tale of political wrongdoing and righteousness as it is about the thin line between politics and celebrity. In a time when Barack Obama is as big a tabloid star as Britney and the evening news is covering Sarah Palin’s $150,000 shopping sprees at Saks and Neiman Marcus, the flashbulbs surrounding David Frost and Richard Nixon don’t seem so outrageous anymore.

Appropriately enough, Frost/Nixon is on its way to the big screen, as well – with Frank Langella as Nixon and Michael Sheen (previously known to me only as Kate Beckinsale’s babydaddy) as Frost. Ron Howard is directing, and the film is slated for a Christmastime release.