{"id":334876,"date":"2021-09-04T18:04:47","date_gmt":"2021-09-04T15:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/off-broadway-play-asks-its-audience-to-vote-on-nixons-complicity-in-watergate\/"},"modified":"2021-09-04T18:04:47","modified_gmt":"2021-09-04T15:04:47","slug":"off-broadway-play-asks-its-audience-to-vote-on-nixons-complicity-in-watergate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/off-broadway-play-asks-its-audience-to-vote-on-nixons-complicity-in-watergate\/","title":{"rendered":"#Off-broadway play asks its audience to vote on Nixon&#8217;s complicity in Watergate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Off-broadway play asks its audience to vote on Nixon&#8217;s complicity in Watergate<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>He\u2019s not a crook.<\/p>\n<p>At least that is what most audiences of an off-Broadway play about President Richard M. Nixon \u2014 starring famed impersonator Rich Little \u2014 think of the late, disgraced Watergate figure.<\/p>\n<p>The show puts the audience of \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/trialonthepotomac.com\/\">Trial on the Potomac\u201d <\/a> in place of the Senate, which, after the curtain call, must vote on whether or not to \u201cconvict\u201d Tricky Dick at an impeachment trial, something Nixon avoided in real life by resigning.<\/p>\n<p>The results: of 26 showings so far, just one \u2014 a Sunday matinee \u2014 collected the required 67 votes to convict. All others found Nixon \u201cnot guilty.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The play at the Theatre at St. Clement\u2019s is based on documents painstakingly uncovered in the years since Nixon\u2019s 1974 resignation by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/shepardonwatergate.com\/\">Geoff Shepard<\/a>, 76, who in his 20s was a lawyer in the Nixon White House and worked on the president\u2019s Watergate defense.<\/p>\n<p>His thesis: Nixon was the victim of \u201ca secret cabal of prosecutors, judges and congressional staff.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"The writer Geoff Shepard (left) and the playwright George Bugatti collaborated to male the show.\" class=\"wp-image-19350506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Geoff Shepard (right) and the playwright George Bugatti collaborated to bring the show to life.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Lisa R. Kyle for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Little, 82, who said he\u2019d had to \u201cdust off\u201d his Nixon impression after five decades, says he has a new view of Nixon. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBack during Watergate, I wasn\u2019t a huge fan of his. But I didn\u2019t know all the information that Geoff came up with. And if you read his book and study Nixon more closely \u2014 like Geoff did for God knows how many years \u2014 you come to a different conclusion,\u201d Little told The Post.<\/p>\n<p>Little, a regular on Johnny Carson\u2019s \u201cTonight Show,\u201d made a career out of his Nixon impersonation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you look at what\u2019s h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ening today, Watergate is practically nothing, really,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/nixon-geoff-shepard.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Geoff Shepard is seem with Nixon back in the day.\" class=\"wp-image-19350511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/nixon-geoff-shepard.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/nixon-geoff-shepard.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/nixon-geoff-shepard.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Geoff Shepard is seem with Nixon back in the day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The \u201cMan of a Thousand Voices\u201d went on, pointing to the 1960 election: \u201cThe similarities between Nixon and Donald Trump is, they both say the election was stolen. And I think it was \u2014 both of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chief among the papers Shepard turned up: the prosecution\u2019s formerly-sealed Watergate \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/research\/investigations\/watergate\/roadmap\">road map<\/a>,\u201d which the National Archives only released in 2018 after Shepard won in federal court. The \u201ccrux\u201d of the documents is the formerly-sealed top accusation that Nixon authorized the key $75,000 payment to Watergate burglar E. Howard Hunt. But Shepard says the chronology doesn\u2019t line up \u2014 and asserts that the road map\u2019s authors deliberately obfuscated this. <\/p>\n<p>Onstage, any time an actor raises a document, it\u2019s a copy of the real thing, Shepard said. In one case it is Shepard\u2019s own copy of the Nixon Oval Office tapes transcript, which he spent countless hours compiling himself in 1974.<\/p>\n<p>The infamous 18 \u00bd minute gap in the tapes \u201cremains an unsolved mystery,\u201d Shepard said. \u201cStill, in 2014 [former White House Counsel] John Dean described it as \u2018historically insignificant mainly because the conversation occurred three days after the break-in arrests \u2014 well before any facts were known.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Nixon show\" class=\"wp-image-19350526\" width=\"618\" height=\"411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1233 1236w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=925 927w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=618 618w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=308 309w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 618px) 100vw, 618px\"\/><figcaption>Of 26 showings so far, just one \u2014 a Sunday matinee \u2014 collected the required 67 votes to convict.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Adam Smith, Jr.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThere are no loose ends in the play. You could get representatives from the special prosecutor\u2019s office to try and fly-speck it \u2014 to try to pick out something that\u2019s wrong \u2014 and they can\u2019t do it. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/trialonthepotomac.com\/supporting-evidence\/\">Every document<\/a> is referenced, it\u2019s available to the public, and the story follows fact,\u201d Shepard said.<\/p>\n<p>The playwright, George Bugatti, said he approached Shepard after reading one of his books, \u201cThe Real Watergate Scandal: Collusion, Conspiracy, and the Plot That Brought Nixon Down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe challenge was to dramatize these documents and to make them come alive and not have it come across as one huge legal brief,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=703\" alt=\"At the end of the off-Broadway play Trial on The Potomac at the Theatre at St. Clement's\" class=\"wp-image-19350531\" width=\"618\" height=\"901\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1236 1236w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=927 927w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=618 618w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=309 309w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/tricky-dick-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 618px) 100vw, 618px\"\/><figcaption>The show puts the audience of \u201cTrial on the Potomac\u201d in place of the Senate.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Lisa R. Kyle for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Though the show is scheduled to close Sept. 4, Shepard said his goal wasn\u2019t to put on a \u201cfinancially successful play.\u201d Rather, it was \u201cto have future scholars and researchers say, \u2018I\u2019ll be a son of a gun.&#8217;\u201d\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/09\/04\/off-broadway-play-asks-its-audience-to-vote-on-nixons-complicity-in-watergate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Off-broadway play asks its audience to vote on Nixon&#8217;s complicity in Watergate&#8221; He\u2019s not a crook. At least that is what most audiences of an off-Broadway play about President Richard M. Nixon \u2014 starring famed impersonator Rich Little \u2014 think of the late, disgraced Watergate figure. The show puts the audience of \u201cTrial on the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":334877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/nixon-off-broadway-play-hp.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[115450,101414,80988,32681,115457,72543,70730,94491],"class_list":["post-334876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-9-4-21","tag-off-broadway","tag-plays","tag-politics","tag-rich-little","tag-richard-nixon","tag-theater","tag-watergate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}