Checkers

[WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel]

I saw Checkers tonight at the Vineyard and liked it quite a bit. The Nixon and Eisenhower administrations were never covered in any depth during my high school history classes, and my friend said he experienced the same lack was in his education.

The play focuses on Nixon's role as the vice presidential candidate during Eisenhower's run for president in 1952. Eisenhower selected Nixon, but shortly after the announcement it was revealed that Nixon had a secret slush fund. The playwright explores how the Republican party dealt with the scandal.

It starts out a little slowly, and the play might not be breaking any new ground, but it was very interesting and kind of like watching a well-acted History Channel special or 60 minutes expose.

Anthony LaPaglia and Kathryn Erbe played Richard and Pat Nixon. I don't know how realistically Pat was presented, but it has peaked my interest in her and Erbe did an excellent job. She had a nice monologue before her husband had to give an important speech, and her final scene with LaPaglia was intense. LaPaglia himself made for a very sympathetic Nixon (I would have voted for him), and I got to see another side from the standard Watergate scandal Nixon.

The other firecracker in the cast was Lewis J Stadlen who played Nixon's campaign manager. He had a lot of zingers and knew how to land the laughs.

I think the pace will pick up in a few places, but it's in good shape for the fourth or fifth preview. If you like historical dramas don't miss it.

[After Eight]

The play is OK, with tv level writing.

[WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel]

My history classes seemed to hit the New Deal and World War II followed by the Kennedy assassination, the civil rights movement, Vietnam and then Watergate. In general everything after WWII was very rushed, save for MLK Jr.

I'm sorry to disappoint you though, but my history classes weren't full of pop culture and we still read To Kill a Mockingbird and Great Gatsby in English class.

[After Eight]

^

Great to hear.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

[Scarywarhol]

I have never had so much trouble telling if someone is a troll or not. Because After Eight would have to be a pathetically diligent one.

[EricMontreal22]

"My history classes seemed to hit the New Deal and World War II followed by the Kennedy assassination, the civil rights movement, Vietnam and then Watergate. In general everything after WWII was very rushed, save for MLK Jr."

Interesting--a huge focus in our history class (when it came to American history anyway) was the Cuban Missile Crisis.

I've never heard of pop culture classes in high school, though, and the way education is funded currently, I can't see them becoming common...

Sounds like you covered the same lit as we did, basically (and most schools do, still, I assume, though they tried to give us some Canadian lit, too, I remember reading Atwood's Handmaid's Tale in grade 9 which made some random parent upset, and Robertson Davies' Fifth Business in grade 11).

[Kad]

Yeah, the last several decades of American history are generally just the highlights in most curricula. Basically "We Didn't Start the Fire". And yet all the explorers who trod through Florida's marshes are covered in detail.

It's interesting to see another take on Nixon. I have a feeling some people are sick of him in popular culture, but he is inarguably one of the most fascinating and complex figures of American history in the 20th century.

[WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel]

Eric- We never learned about the Cuban Missile Crisis, and I specifically remember looking it up on my own after hearing the term "Bay of Pigs" and wanting to know what it was all about. This was in the late 90s. I wonder if things have changed over a decade later.

Kad- Yeah, it was great to see this side of him as a mere vice presidential candidate. It would be like getting the Dan Quayle story, but knowing that 16 yrs later he would be president. I mean, can you imagine Dan Quayle trying to run for president today? Nixon really had a bizarre political career, and if this play is accurate Pat Nixon was just as interesting.

[themysteriousgrowl]

My H.S. History experience was very similar to Whizzer's. We also spent time on the Cuban Missile Crisis, Eric, but I believe that was my junior year, and my junior-year history teacher was a little conflict-crazy. We definitely watched "The Missiles of October," though. I'm pretty sure our American History education ended with a whimper about Watergate and a passing mention of Jimmy Carter and the Iran–Contra affair.

We read and studied, among others, "Gatsby," "Mockingbird," four Shakespeares (R&J, MACBETH, HAMLET, and CAESAR), "Lord of the Flies," DEATH OF A SALESMAN, as well as being given individual book assignments each year ("The Grapes of Wrath," "The Iliad," "Les Misérables," "David Copperfield," and "Moby-Dick" -- which remains my favorite book -- were some I was fortunate to get).

I don't recall being taught pop culture, and I went to a terrible high school.

The "Checkers speech" was mentioned, also, as that, but not dwelt on.

[darquegk]

This just reminds me of one of my favorite SNL moments of all time- the early seasons, maybe even the first, had a very dark "Nixon's Breakdown" skit that showed him on the night before his resignation, ranting in his office to a portrait of Lincoln.

I can't find a YouTube link to it anywhere, but I'm sure someone has it.

[WithoutATrace]

I feel like I have to chime in about last night's performance.

As stated above, Lewis J. Stadlen was excellent as the campaign manager. Got tons of laughs and played the role perfectly.

Kathryn Erbe was wonderful as Mrs. Nixon. She gave a very affecting performance and you could feel her pain when Nixon decided to go back on his word and stay in politics.

Anthony LaPaglia confirmed what I was just telling my coworker that morning - he is a versatile actor that can play any role. He was stunning as Nixon. His vocal mannerisms, the way he carried himself, the way he made the big speech, the shed tears at the end - all played to perfection. Considering that this was only the fifth preview, I was amazed at how much he had already developed this character. He was so believable and so brilliant and I adore the man so much.

If you are on the fence about this, definitely go get tickets. The subject matter was fascinating and the acting was top notch. Congrats to all involved. I hope good word of mouth spreads quickly on this one.

[PalJoey]

Once again, you two guys have made me want to see something I only barely was paying attention to and certainly wasn't intending on seeing. Thanks again.

[macnyc]

My high school experience took place during the Nixon administration, so I don't know if I'm ready for a sympathetic portrayal of him! But I love LaPaglia, and I'm watching TDF closely to see if any more tickets pop up! Thanks, Whizzer, for starting this thread.

[AC126748]

It's not the best play, but Erbe is magnificent and LaPaglia truly loses himself in his performance. It is not an impersonation, which is something I'd worried about. Worth seeing for them alone.

[WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel]

Erbe is a terrific actress. Did anyone see her Tony-nominated performance in "The Speed of Darkness?" It played the Belasco in '91 and also starred Len Cariou. Seems to be a forgotten play today...worth reviving at all?

[macnyc]

Checkers is back on TDF for this weekend, if anyone wants to see it.

[After Eight]

"Did anyone see her Tony-nominated performance in "The Speed of Darkness?"

Yes, she was very good; the play was not.

[macnyc]

I really enjoyed Checkers. I totally bought Anthony LaPaglia as Nixon. He doesn't particularly resemble him, but after five minutes I was sold. His speech, his mannerisms, 100 percent there. Kathryn Erbe as Pat Nixon was supremely sympathetic. Lewis J. Stadlen stole every scene he was in as the campaign manager with a flair for the crude turn of phrase. While I don't think the play broke any new ground (yes, we know politics is dirty and inhabited by foul-mouthed people at their most disgusting), but I still enjoyed it as a glimpse into the not-too-distant past, and very relevant to this election season. Nice small theater too. Highly recommended. Get there!

[vegas2]

I liked it, too. The three leads were splendid.

[Playbilly]

If you went to school in the 60s and 70s, the Nixon era wasn't history; it was current events. And text books stayed away from controversial/touchy subjects. Today, it's different. Current events are part of the education process.

[Playbilly]

If you went to school in the 60s and 70s, the Nixon era wasn't history; it was current events. And text books stayed away from controversial/touchy subjects. Today, it's different. Current events are part of the education process.

[ChairinMain]

I'm going to have to be a minority voice, but I didn't care for it. I thought LaPaglia was indeed terrific and I liked Stadlen a lot but I thought the play itself was drastically underwritten. I feel like it couldn't decide if it was a docudrama or a deep probing of the Nixons; there were too many brief scenes, especially early on, where it just felt it was nothing but exposition, and with the exception of the three main characters, everyone is written extremely one-dimensionally, especially the two Eisenhower advisors, who were so cartoonishly evil I thought they were going to tie Pat to a set of train tracks, laughing manically.

I couldn't decide if Kathryn Erbe was playing a good part poorly or playing a poorly-written part well. I feel like the real Pat Nixon's clueless public persona was what was written here rather than a real woman. I found her mounting desire to leave politics fairly cliche and one note, and I hated those little asides she had during the speech.

I also think the numerous set changes really killed the pacing, and it's kind of weird that we never actually hear about the dog at all until the speech. There were a lot of things I found really stagy (The encounter with the guy at the whistle stop who yells about Pat's coat, the bit with the pennies, the constant bit where Nixon referring to himself in third person) which are probably true to life but feel like stuff written for a really cheesy bioflic. It's the one thing I saw in NY this month I can't recommend.

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

What was the running time of the show?

[ChairinMain]

It's 1:45, no intermission.

[JMPlayer6]

I saw this yesterday. I lived through the Nixon aministration during high schhol/college. The whole Checkers thing was a bit before my time, but I am well read enough to know about it, plus knew Nixon's political history post-Checkers, and had seen parts of the Checkers speech on TV before. It's not a great play, in my view---just OK. I found it to be largely superficial, as if someone wrote a play about this period in Nixon's political life after having skimmed through Wikipedia. I didn't see that it had much real insight into Nixon the man.