Claim: Susan Sarandon is an actress.

An Evening With Richard Nixon , originally billed as An Evening With Richard Nixon and ... , is a play by Gore Vidal which opened at the Shubert Theatre in April 1972 . The play was produced by Hillard Elkins , directed by Edwin Sherin , and starred George S. Irving , Gene Rupert , Humbert Allen Estredo , Stephen D. Newman , Philip Sterling and Robert King . As yet `` undiscovered '' in the ensemble were future stars Maureen Anderman and Susan Sarandon .   The play is a wry examination of the career and Presidency -LRB- up to that pre-Watergate point -RRB- of Richard M. Nixon -LRB- Irving -RRB- . As it starts , two pundits , a William F. Buckley-like Pro -LRB- Rupert -RRB- and a Gore Vidal-like Con -LRB- Estredo -RRB- are debating the worthiness of Nixon . Unable to settle their differences objectively , they magically convene a tribunal of deceased , past Presidents -- Eisenhower -LRB- Sterling -RRB- , Kennedy -LRB- King -RRB- and Washington -LRB- Newman -RRB- -- to review the Nixon career and pass judgment . The rules are strict : anything we observe in the central playing area , which is dedicated to historical recreation , is taken from actual public record ; every word spoken by anyone is what that person actually said . This applies especially to Nixon , whose words , we are assured , remain in their original context . Only Pro , Con and the Tribunal speak freely in the immediate present . And of course , they have much to say .   Previews began on April 18 , and the play ran from April 30 to May 13 , for a total of 14 previews and 16 regular performances .   The published version of the play , prepared prior to rehearsals , features only the tribunal of presidents , but not the characters of Pro and Con , who were added later .