COAST OF UTOPIA question

[maybethistime]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 12:06am

On my upcoming trip to New York, I'm contemplating seeing all 3 parts of COAST OF UTOPIA; however, scheduling forces me to see Part III before Parts I and II. Is that gonna suck?? I'm I going to understand what's going on? Is it going to ruin Parts I and II? Should I only see Parts I and II? (Or only 1 of them?) Thoughts??

*My apologies for wordy incoherence.*

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 1:11am

Aww... that does suck.

I still think you should see all three.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 8:41am

Part III hasn't started yet, so I can't say how good/bad it is. Just know that the shows fully stand-alone, so you wouldn't have to see I & II first to understand III.

But it's like Star Wars. Would you want to know that Darth Vader is Luke's father before even knowing who Luke is?

That said, I recommend Part II the most.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 10:39am

Hmmm...Part III, having seen it in London is the weakest of the trilogy. I would say go ahead, and you will have a very unique perspective on the show. I would recommend that you brush up on the central characters in the show beforehand though, since you are missing so much exposition. Look at Bakunin, Herzen, and Ogarev before you go. Here's another movie comparison: Would you want to know that Frodo had to throw the Ring into Mount Doom even before you knew he had to make the trek to get there? I would still say see all three. But if you had to choose, I'd say Shipwreck. It seems to be the popular favorite. (Though I still prefer "Voyage")

[bjh2114]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 11:35am

I know it may not be ideal, but can you not make it to any of the "Marathon" days? It's true that it's a lot of Stoppard, but I think it would be incredibly worth it to see all 3 plays in order. If you can't do the marathon, my suggestion would be see the first two in order and just forget the third. You really need to see Voyage first.

[maybethistime]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 12:00pm

Hmmm... sounds kind of crummy. I can only see shows from March 14-17 and those day's schedule is
Wed: Shipwreck
Thur: Salvage
Fri: Voyage
Sat: Voyage/Shipwreck
If only see Parts I and II, am I going to be wishing I saw Part III? Or should I just go for seeing all of it, and get over the order??

[Katurian2]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 12:04pm

Well..I see two options:

1. See them out of order and be slightly confused for the first part, and know what happens to all the characters at the conclusion. However, doing all this while witnessing some of the greatest performances from NYC actors today in Stoppard's masterpiece.

OR

2. See Parts I and II (The best of the the three) in order, and buy the script for the third part of the trilogy, but live with the guilt of never having seen it.

It's really up to your own, personal preferences.

[maybethistime]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 1:28pm

Any thoughts on ONLY seeing Part I?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 1:35pm

Part I wasn't my favorite - reminded me of a Russian soap opera. That is, there were so many extraneous characters that have no bearing on the rest on the other two parts (or Act II of Part I, itself). Still, even with criticism, it was one of the best shows I saw in 2006.

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 1:35pm

DON'T only see Part 1. If you can, see all 3. You'll just see one, and think "1 is enough". And than you'll see it. and you'll be blown out of the water and desperatly want to see the other two

[Katurian2]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 10:44pm

Well...I liked Part 1.....It seems that those who have a strong phlisophy/romanticism base prefer that to the others. But if you do see only one part, see "Shipwreck". They all do stand on their own, and this seems to be the most powerful of all.