Visit the Jennifer Ehle fan blog, currently obsessively tracking The Coast of Utopia news: press, blog and forum reviews, interviews with cast and crew, photos, Tonys buzz, etc.
I'm going Friday as well and can't wait. I was hoping to study up a bit, but it looks like I'll have to settle for just reading Voyage before Fri.
But when did New Hampshire become--Such a backward wasteland of seatbelt hating crazies?...I mean, only 40 people actually live there. The others are just visitors who come for the tax-free liquor and three inches of novelty coastline. John Hodgeman on The Daily Show (1-30-07)
Saw last night's preview. A solid production, even right out of the gate. Recognizing that Stoppard is often better read than performed AND that it was a first preview, I'll forgive some of the pacing issues; I'm sure things will get tighter as the show seasons in coming weeks.
There are some extraordinary bits of stagecraft, which I won't spoil; and, given that this is an epic story, the necessary "turntable" and "projection" elements are there and nicely used, creating some brilliant cinematic transitions.
The one performance to note is Billy Crudup's Belinsky. Absolutely extraordinary, even if it at times degenerates into an echo of Brad Pitt's schizoid character in 12 MONKEYS.
I'll be interested in hearing what you think Addy. I don't go until next week. I'm currently slogging my way through Isaiah Berlin's "Russian Thinkers" to get a bit of background on Herzen, Bakunin and Belinsky.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Stoppard contructs much of the dialogue among the Bakunin family, Balinsky, Herzen, and others off the ideas explored by the German and French, so I'd also get a sense of Hegel and Sand for context in this first installment. Otherwise, much of the wit in the conversations will be lost -- most of last night's audience missed some wonderfully humorous nuances in argument.
Stoppard says in the preface to the published version of the plays that he couldn't have written them without the writings of Isaiah Berlin and E.H. Carr on Herzen, Belinsky, Bakunin et al. You can order Berlin's "Russian Thinkers" (which is a series of essays analyzing their writings and philosophies in depth) and Carr's "Romantic Exiles" (a biographical portrait of all the main characters in the plays, including the wives and lovers and extended families, during the periods covered in plays and beyond) from Amazon.com (neither the Strand or Barnes & Noble had them when I checked).
How was Richard Easton's understudy? I can't imagine he's had much rehearsal time.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Margo, I absolutely plan to read them before seeing the next installments.
The background information and synopsis provided with the Playbill were both extremely helpful, and they included a list of books for audience members interested in further reading:
'Russian Thinkers' by Isaiah Berlin
'The Romantic Exiles' by Edward Hallett (E.H.) Carr
'Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia' by Orlando Figes
'My Past and Thoughts' by Alexander Herzen
'Indiana' by George Sand
'A Sportsman's Sketches' by Ivan Turgenev
'Fathers and Sons' by Ivan Turgenev
I thought David Manis did a wonderful job of taking over for Richard Easton. They couldn't have had much rehearsal time at all, but it was as smooth as one would expect for the third night of previews.
There were a couple of technical glitches tonight, but nothing that can't be fixed, and nothing that detracted from the performance.
It's in remarkable shape...
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
Also, be sure to pick up a copy of 'Lincoln Center Theatre Review' in the lobby of the theatre for more information and reflections on Stoppard's trilogy.
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
Alas, only the first article's up. Can't find an email to ask whoever's in charge if that's deliberate or a technical thing.
Visit the Jennifer Ehle fan blog, currently obsessively tracking The Coast of Utopia news: press, blog and forum reviews, interviews with cast and crew, photos, Tonys buzz, etc.
And here's an "education workpack" that the National Theatre (UK) put together for when they did the trilogy a couple of years ago. It's a nice overview of the three plays that's worth printing out and reading (this link is to a PDF file -- the workpack is 15 pages once it's printed out):
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Thanks for listing those books NYadgal- just borrowed the Figes one today.
Visit the Jennifer Ehle fan blog, currently obsessively tracking The Coast of Utopia news: press, blog and forum reviews, interviews with cast and crew, photos, Tonys buzz, etc.
Thanks for the links as well. I read the National PDF file a couple days ago, and I'll see what else I can plow through before this evening. I'd hoped to pick up the Berlin/Carr books, but like Margo said, no luck at the Strand. Guess I'll just have to go the Amazon route and be better prepared for Shipwreck and Salvage!
But when did New Hampshire become--Such a backward wasteland of seatbelt hating crazies?...I mean, only 40 people actually live there. The others are just visitors who come for the tax-free liquor and three inches of novelty coastline. John Hodgeman on The Daily Show (1-30-07)
You read my mind! :) Was thinking of setting up a free forum thingy for CoU discussion. Other options- email mailing list, Yahoo group, thread here, LJ/Myspace communities (a LJ one already exists)...opinions?
*Edit: just struck me that you might've meant a face-to-face group.
Visit the Jennifer Ehle fan blog, currently obsessively tracking The Coast of Utopia news: press, blog and forum reviews, interviews with cast and crew, photos, Tonys buzz, etc.