Portland Center Stage

The Reviews are In and Bill Christ’s Nixon is a HUGE Hit!

Posted by Kinsley Suer | 23 April 2009 | Comments (0)

It’s official- our Richard Nixon stands tall, defying stereotype and “deftly avoiding the long shadow” of Frank Langella’s Oscar-nominated performance in the role. The critics are also saying that our production does what the movie never could: help you to really feel the difference between Nixon in person and Nixon in terrifying TV close up. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what the critics are saying.

About Bill Christ as Richard Nixon:

“Christ is so compelling it feels at times as though the stage is tilting toward him.”

- Alison Hallett, Portland Mercury.

“The key is Bill Christ’s credible and compelling portrayal of Nixon, emphasizing his intellect and sad self-loathing in a way that renders him almost likable, while not diminishing his flaws. It’s a trick worthy of Tricky Dick…The part has been owned — in London, on Broadway, and in the Ron Howard-directed film — by the remarkable actor Frank Langella. Yet Christ manages to sidestep that long shadow here.”

- Marty Hughley, The Oregonian

“Nixon is especially well-written, and Bill Christ brings him to life with confidence and a surprisingly strong sense of comedic delivery.”

- Jonathan Owicki, Describe the Ruckus

“[Bill Christ] offers a Nixon who is inordinately intelligent and funny in the driest possible way, but who’s so clumsy he gives even himself the heebie-jeebies. He’s not smooth, he’s not sexy, he can’t do small talk. If he were a language he’d be German, not French. ”

- Bob Hicks, Art Scatter

The Film vs. The Show:

“If you count yourself among the many disappointed by Ron Howard’s Best Picture-nominated film, hear this: Peter Morgan’s 2006 stage play … is, thank heavens, far superior to its overblown cinematic successor.”

- Ben Waterhouse, Willamette Week.

“Despite snagging a couple of Academy Award nominations for last year’s film adaptation, playwright Peter Morgan’s Frost/Nixon was never really suited for the big screen—if only because a crucial theme in the play is the unprecedented intimacy that television offered… The significance of this perspective shift is explained in the film, but not really felt—not felt like the audience at PCS feels it when, after 90 minutes of watching a human-sized Nixon stride around the stage, his face is suddenly projected with unsettling clarity on a ceiling-high screen. Oh, thinks the audience in the balcony. That’s what he really looks like. It’s a powerful moment.”

- Alison Hallett, The Mercury.

The Verdict:

“Portland Center Stage’s retro-stylish production — crisply directed by Rose Riordan — doesn’t blunt the impact of the emotional payoff, a moment of political schadenfreude rare in its worthiness.”

- Marty Hughley, The Oregonian

“Christ’s performance, under Rose Riordan’s smart direction, offers some of the best moments we’ve seen on PCS’ mainstage this year.”

- Alison Hallett, The Mercury