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The Coast of Utopia Part 1 Voyage Reviews
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The Coast of Utopia: Salvage Review by: Tom B, May 6, 2007 |
Although I can see how some might be disappointed in this last installment (it's a bit clunkier than the first two, "Voyage" and "Shipwreck"), taken as a whole, the production of "The Coast of Utopia" trilogy is one of the most stunning works of theater I've ever seen. The scale of the sets and staging and effects and lighting that Lincoln Center can put on never ceases to amaze me. The cast is terrific, maintaining focus and energy throughout ... read more these long works. I can hardly imagine what they must look (and feel) like on the days they perform all three plays as a marathon.
The final line of the trilogy is simple: "There is going to be a storm." The line is meant both literally and figuratively -- both in terms of the coming storm in Russian in 1917 (the play ends in 1868) and in terms of the ongoing war between tradition and modernity.
There is far more in "The Coast of Utopia" than I have the energy, the time or the intellect to fully explore here and now -- but if you have the opportunity to experience this amazing production, take it.
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Review by: Tom, Feb 12, 2007 |
The first play of Tom Stoppard's new trilogy, "The Coast of Utopia," “Voyage,” is a dense, multi-layered, demanding, intense, funny, complex work of art. So is the second play, “Shipwreck.” I have tickets for “Salvage,” the final installment, in April, and I imagine is will be just as challenging and rewarding as the first two.
The story is fairly sparse: young idealistic Russians come together at a country estate and debate philosophy ... read more and politics. Ideas fly fast and furious, and it can be hard at times to keep track of who is with whom, but the language is so rich and the interplay of characters and concepts so detailed that I think I'll have to read the text before I can come close to understanding where Stoppard is trying to take us. The second play is not necessarily better than the first, but it drew me in more deeply, and I began to gain a greater sense of the scope and reach of this work.
Beyond this I’m hesitant to offer a lot of criticism on the play, simply because I don’t think I’ve quite grasped it all. I think there is a lot more to discover and understand. There’s a lot going on here than I am getting yet. What I did get I enjoyed immensely. It’s worth the price of admission to witness Billy Crudup’s work alone. He was amazing in “The Pillowman,” and continues to be amazing here, but in a completely different way. I didn't even recognize him for the first half hour or so, so completely did he inhabit his role. And from the front row seats, it was fascinating to see how nuanced were his expressions, even in the ample confines of the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Brian F. O’Byrne, while also an excellent actor, seems to have a signature timbre or modulation to his voice that crosses all his performances I have seen (“Frozen” and “Doubt” in addition to this). This may be a signature that will serve to help him stand out from the crowd, but I think it might be limiting where he can take certain roles.
Sorry I can’t offer much perspective here, but check out “The Coast of Utopia” yourself, then feel free to chime in with comments.
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Wonderful thoughts and simple but magical staging! Review by: Luis, Dec 14, 2006 |
| We saw Voyage during our Thanksgiving trip to New York. For this play you have to do the same you would do when you want to fully enjoy a play by Shakespeare: You have to prepare yourself in advance. That's the way I do it when I take my students on a field trip, so they get to enjoy the experience in great depth. My partner and I read about the historical references and characters. Then, we went to see a exhibit about the romantics at the Met ... read more to get into the mood of the historical period. All this wonderful preparation made us enjoy this great production so much. We are already looking forward to see the second part in January. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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Seniors, Adults
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Voyage: Are We There Yet? Review by: Randy W, Dec 3, 2006 |
A stylishly handsome production, “Voyage” is the opening Salvo of Tom Stoppard’s trilogy “The Coast of Utopia”. The play never raised my interest yet it was not bad enough to warrant leaving early. At times the dialogue seems to be a history lecture disguised as a play. Stoppard is among my favorite playwrights. His plays are always butchered in my home town of San Francisco, so I made sure to see Voyage at Lincoln Center where, I presumed,... read more, it would be done right.
This production and its performances are uneven. The director was far more successful in impressing with visual imagery than in delivering a cohesive production. But knowing about Voyage only that which I saw, I cannot really know whether a better play lurks underneath or if perhaps this production delivered much of the play’s potential. Either way, it was a disappointment.
Stoppard’s wit is too sparsely spread across the 3 hour show. The entire first act has us emotionally investing in characters who are irrelevant by the second act, as we find out that the ostensibly peripheral characters…about whom we may care little in the first act…are really Voyage’s central figures. The last scene is beautifully done, but it is a peculiar climax for a character who was barely seen or mentioned for the final hour or two.
I am loathe to leave any play at intermission, never knowing if the 2nd act justifies the means. A similar logic must apply to a trilogy. Is it possible that the tediousness of Voyage is a necessary set-up to the remaining parts of the Utopia trilogy? Am I willing to spend another $200 to find out? There is a temptation to give the next part a try, just because the production is such an ambitious undertaking. And being a Stoppard fan I would tend to give him the benefit of the doubt. But if I was new to Stoppard and merely judged Voyage on its own merits, I would jump this ship now.
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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Lost at Sea: : Adrift, Shipwrecked and Unsalveable Review by: svb, Dec 1, 2006 |
In the Coast of Utopia, Tom Stoppard has achieved something unusually difficult. He has taken the most important political movement of the past 200 years – the origins of the Russian revolutionary movement and Bolshevik Party – and managed to write a boring, irrelevant play. In fact three plays of three hour – Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage.
This is a tragedy. Stoppard has squandered a chance to educate tens of thousands in the politics ... read more of totalitarianism, a lesson that should be learned by every generation.
There are three questions about The Coast of Utopia that concern this reviewer.
First and foremost: Why write about Bakunin and Herzen? They are both political dead ends and left no mark whatsoever on Russian revolutionary politics.
Second: Where are the Jews? In the Russian revolutionary movement, at both the leadership and cadre level, Jews represented up to one half of the membership.
There is not one Jew is in the trilogy. Marx makes a brief appearance in Salvage, but we are here concerned with the Russian Social Democratic movement, not a baptized German Jew.
Third: Where is Lenin? To write about Russian revolutionary politics without concentrating on Lenin, his predecessors, contemporaries or successors is as if to write the New Testament without mentioning Jesus Christ and the Crucifixion.
SVBayer
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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