‘Nixon’s Nixon’ an Insightful Speculation of Kissinger Meeting

In this era of presidential investigations that more and more resemble topics for Jerry Springer, Russell Lees’ “Nixon’s Nixon” reminds us, with surprising wit, of the national crisis precipitated by truly sordid political criminality.

On the 1974 evening before the dishonored Richard Nixon became the first and only president to resign, he summoned then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger for a three-hour meeting in the Lincoln Sitting Room at the White House. That session has inspired much subsequent conjecture as to what was said and done, and this is Lees’ distillation--insightful, enlightening and entertaining.

Casting is excellent. Keith Jochim makes an especially effective Nixon, not only recalling the man’s appearance--bushy-browed, hair slicked back, slouched posture--but his often-pompous speech pattern. Jochim has the right jowls, too, and shakes them for emphasis, but not to the point of caricature so beloved by Nixonian mimics.

The presidential language--sprinkled with profanity, obscenity and bigotry--would be shocking if it weren’t so well-documented, chiefly from the White House tapes exposed by the Watergate scandal that decimated Nixon’s administration.

Tim Donoghue re-creates an unmistakable Kissinger--horn-rimmed glasses, tightly waved hair and deadly serious mien, delivering pronouncements in that deep, German-accented voice.

Lees has done his homework. He weaves gossip about actual persons and known events into dialogue that, given the personalities and egos involved, mostly rings true. Nixon, as likely was the case, expresses thoughts ranging all over the emotional map--defiance, acquiescence, contempt, hope, fear, regret--all the while displaying a deep suspicion of Kissinger. For his part, the secretary clearly dislikes Nixon but realizes that to retain his post--and the world spotlight--he needs Nixon’s influence with the incoming Gerald Ford administration.

Lees--aware that such musings about politics, no matter how historical, accurate or significant, can grow dull and static--strains credibility by having the two, fueled by brandy, play-act important moments in their careers. Their imitations of figures like Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and China’s Chairman Mao, though improbable and foolish, do draw laughs.

Director Charles Towers keeps the men roaming at a comfortable in-the-round pace around Bill Clarke’s authentic-looking set, with its corner bust of Abraham Lincoln providing a visually ironic counterpoint to the men’s not-for-the-ages behavior.

Cedric T. Collier’s sound design is properly subtle--noticed only as Nixon’s too-loud playing of Tchaikovsky obscures the early conversation--but Nancy Schertler’s lighting sometimes changes too abruptly as it limns flashbacks or fantasies.

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* “Nixon’s Nixon,” Cassius Carter Centre Stage, Balboa Park, San Diego, Tuesdays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends Aug. 29. $23-$39. (619) 239-2255. Running time: 1 hours, 40 minutes (no intermission).