The Playgoer: Tale of Two Cities, cont.

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Saturday, February 10, 2007

Tale of Two Cities, cont.

"New York audiences and critics have clearly taken Tom Stoppard's trilogy The Coast of Utopia to their hearts much more than their British counterparts. Over here, the three plays about mid-19th century Russian intellectuals opened at the National back in 2002 and won respect but no real enthusiasm from either critics or reviewers. Unlike the ecstatic response to Stoppard's current hit Rock'n'Roll, British reviews for 'Utopia were unusually reserved, and I know plenty of people who decided not to book for the second and third parts after sitting through the first."

- The Guardian's Lyn Gardner, speculating over what accounts for a much more ga-ga reception for "Utopia" here than in London. Not a little facitiously, she asks, Are Americans smarter? Do they just like doing their 'homework' more? I would say, no. Just that we like saying how well read they are. New Yorkers, at least....

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I've heard from those who have seen both parts that, because of both rewrites and more dynamic casting, the New York production is far superior to the London production.