Theatre, Theater

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It's been rather a whirlwind of late, I'll admit... sorry about my lack of blogging. But...

... last night, I managed to get two tickets to Frost Nixon at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre (thanks James!) Frank Langella and Michael Sheen were brilliant as President Nixon and David Frost, respectively. I am usually underwhelmed by actors portraying Nixon, but Mr. Langella was stunning, and Michael Sheen is - without a doubt - one of the best actors I've ever seen on stage. I was blown away by Mr. Sheen's portrayal of the playboy-esque demeanor of David Frost, while simultaneously revealing him as painfully vulnerable and human. It was a long show (nearly 2 hours without an intermission) and the auditorium was freezing (making the perspiration jokes by Nixon a touch ironic)... but overall a thoroughly riveting performance. As a former newsie, the 'checkbook journalism' debate was treated a little too lightly, but that's really a personal thing. The only annoyance was what I considered too much narration by Stephen Kunken's character, Jim Reston. While the historical context he provided was interesting, at times it felt slightly invasive and almost as if I was listening to a dramatic reading of a Nixon-era historian. I don't know why, but when Corey Johnson (playing Nixon's former Chief of Staff, Col. Jack Brennan) chimed in with Nixon's perspective narrated, it wasn't nearly as distracting. Friend Dan who accompanied me to the show disagreed, however, and found the added narration very helpful in establishing context.

In other news, there's not much other news... other than the fact that I'm seriously overstressed and need about a week of sleep, several massages, a stiff drink and some serious mental down-time. Ever feel like your brain activity has reached a level where it's just about to make a fizzly-electric "pop" sound, and then a small tendril of smoke will waft silently out of your ear? That's about where I am right now. And my horoscope says "Don't let yourself be intimidated by a powerful authority figure today," which I find hysterical for some reason.

(large amounts of blog edited out due to too much psychobabble.)

Ugh. Massive headache. Too much introspection for 5 hours of sleep. Time to find some orange juice.

Happier blogs ahead, I promise.

Meanwhile, Happy Richter Scale Day... and Happy Hug An Australian Day... you choose.
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