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Accent
Tom Stoppard's rich comedy certain to delight
By Kathleen Allen
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 03.14.2008
Beowulf Alley Theatre continues its season with a production of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia." Here's a rundown of what to expect.
The playwright: Just the name "Stoppard" can bring people to the theater. The English playwright has penned some of the most thoughtful and provocative plays in contemporary theater — and does it with a great love and care for language. Among them: "The Coast of Utopia," "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead," "Rock 'N' Roll," and "Jumpers." He also co-wrote screenplays for "Brazil" and "Shakespeare in Love."
The story: It's more complicated to explain the story than it is to see it.
It switches back and forth between two time periods, 1809-1812 and 1989, at the same place, an English country home in Sidley Park.
In 1809, the teen in the house is tutored in mathematics by Septimus Hodge, a friend of the poet Lord Byron, who is a visitor in the home.
In the 1989 household, a writer is looking into the life of a hermit who once lived on the grounds; and a professor of literature is looking into why Byron so quickly fled England for the European continent.
The themes: Oh, you know, the usual ones: the connections between the past and present; mathematics; chaos; physics; thermodynamics; love; poetry; the classics; landscape architecture. All wrapped up in a pretty compelling comedy.
The Arcadia in the title: That would refer to an idyllic setting similar to Utopia. The famous painting "Et in Arcadio Ego" by the French artist Nicolas Poussin depicts a nymph and shepherds reading a tomb inscription that translates to "I who am now dead, also lived once in Arcadia."
What critics have said about the play: "'Arcadia' is Tom Stoppard's richest, most ravishing comedy to date, a play of wit, intellect, language, brio and, new for him, emotion. It's like a dream of levitation: You're instantaneously aloft, soaring, banking, doing loop-the-loops and then, when you think you're about to plummet to Earth, swooping to a gentle touchdown of not easily described sweetness and sorrow."— New York Times
"(Stoppard) has never burned brighter or more kindly." — Time magazine
"This is a brilliant, brilliant play. A play of ideas, of consummate theatricality, of sophisticated entertainment and of heartache for time never to be regained." — Sunday Times (London)
Preview
"Arcadia"
• Presented by: Beowulf Alley Theatre.
• Playwright: Tom Stoppard.
• Director: Dave Sewell.
• When: Previews are 7:30 p.m. Thursday and next Friday; opening is 7:30 p.m. March 22. Regular performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 1:30 p.m. Sundays through April 13.
• Where: Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, 11 S. Sixth Ave.
• Tickets: Previews $10; regular performances $16-$19. Discounts with Web site purchase.
• Reservations: 882-0555 or www.beowulfalley.org.
• Running time: 21/2 hours, with one intermission.
• Cast: Sophie Gibson-Rush, Gary McGaha, Brandon Pittman, Royce Sparks, Tom Bushee, Victoria McGee, Grant Wheeler, Chris Farishon, Rachel Morgan, Chax, David Dudley and Nathan Shaw.
● Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128.
Accent
Tom Stoppard's rich comedy certain to delight
By Kathleen Allen
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 03.14.2008
Beowulf Alley Theatre continues its season with a production of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia." Here's a rundown of what to expect.
The playwright: Just the name "Stoppard" can bring people to the theater. The English playwright has penned some of the most thoughtful and provocative plays in contemporary theater — and does it with a great love and care for language. Among them: "The Coast of Utopia," "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead," "Rock 'N' Roll," and "Jumpers." He also co-wrote screenplays for "Brazil" and "Shakespeare in Love."
The story: It's more complicated to explain the story than it is to see it.
It switches back and forth between two time periods, 1809-1812 and 1989, at the same place, an English country home in Sidley Park.
In 1809, the teen in the house is tutored in mathematics by Septimus Hodge, a friend of the poet Lord Byron, who is a visitor in the home.
In the 1989 household, a writer is looking into the life of a hermit who once lived on the grounds; and a professor of literature is looking into why Byron so quickly fled England for the European continent.
The themes: Oh, you know, the usual ones: the connections between the past and present; mathematics; chaos; physics; thermodynamics; love; poetry; the classics; landscape architecture. All wrapped up in a pretty compelling comedy.
The Arcadia in the title: That would refer to an idyllic setting similar to Utopia. The famous painting "Et in Arcadio Ego" by the French artist Nicolas Poussin depicts a nymph and shepherds reading a tomb inscription that translates to "I who am now dead, also lived once in Arcadia."
What critics have said about the play: "'Arcadia' is Tom Stoppard's richest, most ravishing comedy to date, a play of wit, intellect, language, brio and, new for him, emotion. It's like a dream of levitation: You're instantaneously aloft, soaring, banking, doing loop-the-loops and then, when you think you're about to plummet to Earth, swooping to a gentle touchdown of not easily described sweetness and sorrow."— New York Times
"(Stoppard) has never burned brighter or more kindly." — Time magazine
"This is a brilliant, brilliant play. A play of ideas, of consummate theatricality, of sophisticated entertainment and of heartache for time never to be regained." — Sunday Times (London)
Preview
"Arcadia"
• Presented by: Beowulf Alley Theatre.
• Playwright: Tom Stoppard.
• Director: Dave Sewell.
• When: Previews are 7:30 p.m. Thursday and next Friday; opening is 7:30 p.m. March 22. Regular performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 1:30 p.m. Sundays through April 13.
• Where: Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, 11 S. Sixth Ave.
• Tickets: Previews $10; regular performances $16-$19. Discounts with Web site purchase.
• Reservations: 882-0555 or www.beowulfalley.org.
• Running time: 21/2 hours, with one intermission.
• Cast: Sophie Gibson-Rush, Gary McGaha, Brandon Pittman, Royce Sparks, Tom Bushee, Victoria McGee, Grant Wheeler, Chris Farishon, Rachel Morgan, Chax, David Dudley and Nathan Shaw.
● Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128.
