A Satisfying Ending to Our Friends on THE COAST OF UTOPIA

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't looking forward to SALVAGE, Tom Stoppard's gripping finale to the "Coast of Utopia" trilogy. I had been eagerly anticipating this afternoon since Part II ended. Thankfully, my high expectations were not let down.

This part seemed more like "snapshots in the lives of..." than the others did. The scenes were quick and jumpy, years flew by in literally two lines of dialogue. Too much info was crammed into these scene snippets - characters come and go (much like Part I), the audience never knowing or caring about who they are. Despite this, it's a very good conclusion to the trilogy.

The highly musical Part III benefitted from live and pre-recorded instrumentals.

As usual, O'Brien's guided his cast through the dense story with great ease. It's a beautiful production with exquisite technical elements (the opening, alone, makes the 3 hours worth it). The "spoken musical number," which I've entitled "I Say" is one of the most humorous things I've seen in a long time.

The cast, as usual, is in tip-top shape. Brian F. O'Byrne proves once again why he is one of New York's best actors. He's extremely deserving of a Tony nomination (which I suspect he'll receive). His performance as the devistated Herzen is heartbreaking (and I'm very glad we found out what he was doing in the chair at the beginning).

Ethan Hawke is phenominal, again, as usual, as the flamboyant and now heavily bearded and fat Bakunin. Jennifer Ehle as Malwida is appropriately restrained (I enjoyed her more as Natalia). Also wonderful are Martha Plimpton and Josh Hamilton as the Ogarevs.

The musical elements fit the show very well, a drastic change from the first two parts. Reading the summary helps a great deal, though it's not really hard to follow. If you read it, the show's ending is particularly devistating, realizing, as you see the giant mural of crashing waves, that "for Bakunin and Herzen, their time is the past, the tide sweeps them out, their names are forgotten."

The final tableau, in front of the mural that graces all the promo materials, the culmination of every great technical aspect the show has to offer, is stunning.

A great and satisfying ending to three great productions.

Incidentally, I sat few rows behind Mr. Stoppard and in front of Mr. O'Brien (who came out for most of Act II). They seemed to have a good time, though you could see how nervous the latter was.

Updated On: 2/18/07 at 08:19 PM

I know what you mean, AC1. I heard many saying that this was the most disappointing of the three. It's certainly not the favorite.

This one, as far-fetched sounding as it seems, is the least dramatic. The characters are resigned to their fates, not much else happens.

I still say VOYAGE was the weakest....too many extraneous characters. (I'd order them SHIPWRECK, SALVAGE, VOYAGE, in terms of favorites.)

It is by far the most disappointing of the three. We get introduced to a whole new bunch of characters who then disappear from the play having added nothing to it. There's a funeral scene at the end of the first act. It takes a surprisingly long time for it to become clear whose funeral it is, and then even longer to remember who the character is, and then to wonder why anybody cares that they died.

And you have to listen to Brian F. O'Byrne talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk...

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Roscoe - agreed about the funeral sequence. My question to you: I felt the same way about Part I that you did about Part III. To many extraneous characters. How did you feel about the first part?

I actually thought the funeral was for Ogarev (after he was convulsing). What were those convulsions brought on by?

I like Brian.

Oh well.

There was nothing better than being able to catch Stoppard and O'Brien's reactions. They were dressed in their finest (tonight was opening night) and seemed to enjoy the show very much. Stoppard's tall!

Following the show, he did the obligatory interview with NY1 in the theater lobby....but not before checking his blackberry and having a smoke.

Updated On: 2/18/07 at 10:17 PM

Ha!

I, too, found SALVAGE to be a major disappointment, and, being that it was the play that gave O'Byrne the most to do (say), I found it to drag on past boredom. I am a huge fan of O'Byrne's work. His performances in FROZEN, DOUBT, and SHINING CITY were nothing short of revelations, but not here. I don't know if it was the direction or a lack of character development or motivation. But every line he spoke was done in the same tone and rhythm as the last, and after a while I found it hard to pay attention to whatever it was in particular he was saying. It felt as though he was just reading from the script right then and there. And in comparison to Ethan Hawke and Billy Crudup's earlier moments as the shining stars of the male ensemble, O'Byrne's weaknesses became so much more apparent. Every word Hawke or Crudup spoke had a clear purpose. They embodied their characters. They created fully fleshed out human beings with detailed characteristics. O'Byrne's was just the essence of a one-note performance. Perhaps my experience was such because I saw SALVAGE too early in previews as well. I would be very surprised to see O'Byrne earn a Tony nomination for this performance in such a competitive season, as part of such an intricate play in which, in my opinion, he stood out like a sore thumb. I hope Hawke will be considered Leading and Crudup will be considered Featured and I would be thrilled to see each of them walk home winners. As for Martha Plimpton -- all I can say is Hallelujah! I was thrilled that she had so much opportunity in SALVAGE to show off her stunning acting chops. After seeing her make a striking Broadway debut in the short-lived SIXTEEN WOUNDED and lighting a sharp fire in her scene in last year's SHINING CITY, it was nice to see her get enough material for the Tony Nominating Committee to finally (hopefully) recognize her. She is a natural stage actress, so commanding, fearless, and if she sticks with theatre, the possibilities are endless as to the roles she could tackle.

I found VOYAGE to be the most engaging of the three parts, a lot due to the fact that it was the introduction to so many characters, especially Hawke's and Crudup's. SHIPWRECK paled a bit in comparison, but I very much enjoyed watching David Harbour's performance. And SALVAGE was just over the edge for me -- mostly in part to O'Byrne's mundane performance.

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Updated On: 2/20/07 at 10:53 AM

I echo the sentiment by the major NY critics and thought that O'Byrne delivered a great performance, once again.

And I thought that Shipwreck was the best.

Having just seen all three plays within the span of two days, and the opening night of Salvage, I disagree with some of the critics, who don't seem to see the whole progression nicely wrapped up. In "Voyage," Polevoy foretells exactly how things will end up in "Salvage." It was a perfect circle, marvelously executed by a exhilarating cast...with one exception. I too felt very let down by O'Bryne's performance. The "stentorian" voice, which lacked nuance or even a naturalness of tone, took away from my enjoyment of the plays. One cannot overlook a character who is central to two of the three plays. Both Ethan Hawke and Billy Crudup stood out in my mind. Hawke magnificently realized everything about the firebrand Bakunin.

Yes, Polevoy. Nicholas Polevoy, who is listed as the editor of The Messenger. He says that the next generation of revolutionary thinkers will disown them, have forgotten them. Actually, when you think about it, Bakunin's father at the beginning talks about how radical he was in his youth as well. "Storming the Bastille" figuratively. Both of these men were saying that revolution/radical thinking was a function of youth.