Vineyard Theater; 135 seats; $75 top

If we must have a play about Richard and Pat Nixon, then Douglas McGrath makes a damned good job of it in "Checkers." TV pros Anthony LaPaglia ("Without a Trace") and Kathryn Erbe ("Law & Order: Criminal Intent") are tailor-made for their roles in this biodrama, which views Nixon's famous speech as the defining moment of his marriage and the turning point of his career. More character study than political play, "Checkers" lacks heft, but it builds a solid case for Nixon as a natural-born political animal who paid for the Faustian bargain he struck to achieve his ambitions.

LaPaglia does it right. When the play opens--in 1966, as the GOP is narrowing its hunt for a promising presidential candidate to run in 1968--Nixon's life seems pretty normal. He's left California, having lost his last two elections, including the stake-in-the-heart loss to JFK in 1960. He's living quietly in New York with Pat (Kathryn Erbe) and the girls, retired from politics, but still a force in the party.

And that's the way that LaPaglia plays him--a little bored, but perfectly normal. Pleased to see his wife and two young daughters happily adjusted to life in New York. So mellow, he's seriously considering...