Why We Do What We Do

"Beautiful," she said. Years ago, when I was still a second year grad student, I went to see the Broadway production of, Frost/Nixon. The play starred Frank Langella as former U.S. President Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen as the English journalist, comedian, and writer.

I recall having great seats that afternoon a few rows left of the stage, but only a handful of seats from the action. "Student Rush" tickets were always a great alternative for the young people in and around the city who studied acting and wanted desperately to catch a show without paying premium prices. And depending on the popularity of the show, or length of the run, they were often not even available.

Still, they were great when you could get them even though one never had control over where those little stubs would take you. I once sat in the front row for a production of The Caine Mutiny and in the very last to catch Mark Rylance in Boeing Boeing. But today, I'd finally stumbled upon my Goldilocks moment. I was not too far or too close. My view was just perfect.

Perhaps more importantly, I thought the play was terrific. The story had a clear beginning, middle, and end, and not to mention a compelling cast. But the most notable event of that cold spring afternoon occurred during a monologue Frank Langella delivered toward the end of the play.

During the scene, Richard Nixon phones David Frost after having perhaps a drink too many and launches into a tirade that reveals the 37th president's masked insecurities and vulnerabilities. "No matter how high we get they still look down on us...We still feel like a little man, a loser...We're gonna show those bums, we're gonna make em' choke!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT9GPloXjA8

When Frank Langella finished his monologue you could hear a pin drop in that old theater. And just as the next scene was set to begin I heard an elderly woman sitting directly in front of me whisper under her breath, "Beautiful." I had goose bumps and realized in that moment it was why I wanted to be an actor in the first place. I wanted to make people feel the same way Frank Langella had made that woman in the audience feel that brisk spring afternoon.