Owner: Jennifer Ehle blog URL:http://jenniferehle.blogspot.com Join Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:05:19 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: A fan blog about actress Jennifer Ehle, best known for her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Features reviews, latest news about her career, photos, forum, and an exclusive interview with questions sent in by fa Site statistics:Click here
Voyage stuff 2006-11-10 05:34:00 Review from John Meyers, Connecticut Post.Cheaper Ironies - guestbook message from someone who got to see rehearsals.MrSmearcase feels intellectually bullied.Doug Marino says it's packed with standout performances, but wonders whether average Joe theatregoer will get it.Mixed views and debate at All That Chat.Japanese review, or something.Jaime loved it.New but negative reader review at NY Times.Some Billy Crudup love at IMDB.Photo of Ethan Hawke as Bakunin at Theatermania.Last and best, a slideshow from Martha Plimpton's blog, with backstage photos! If you want to see them one by one, start here. None of notre dame I think. Read more:Voyage
, stuff
Tsar Georgiy 2006-11-13 00:30:00 Photo from the New Yorker, via Agent E (thanks!). And Brendan Lemon of the LCT blog finds echoes of the recent mid-term elections in The Coast of Utopia, or vice versa, or something.It has been difficult to see daily life today in terms of anything but last night's election. And when daily life involves a play about politics, the associations in the rehearsal room are bound to be frequent. One example among many: in a scene from Shipwreck being run today, about the European revolutions of 1848 and the pressures for change they exerted on European royals, Herzen remarks, "The Tsar will have to make a gesture." (News flash: "Bush Says Rumsfeld To Resign!") [...]Oh, and there's free booze if you answer a quiz about Voyage correctly. Have a look in the book for clues. Or buy and read the thing!
Richard Easton returns two weeks before opening 2006-11-15 05:43:00 BroadwayWorld reports that RichardEaston
, who as we know has recovered, came back to Coast of Utopia on the 11th of November, two weeks earlier than the official opening.
Meanwhile, we've been mentioned on NewYorkology for faithfulness in tracking Coast of Utopia news! Read more:Richard Easton
Etc 2006-11-17 10:19:00 YouTube video of John Ehle doing a book reading.New Spider-Man 3 trailer and a detailed writeup that includes a photo and description of a scene that Rosemary Harris is in. There's also a mention of her in an article about a new animal welfare food labelling scheme.Interview with Jack O'Brien, Coast of Utopia director.[...] The Coast of Utopia, whose first part is now in previews and opens Nov. 27, is a much-anticipated project. The three plays that make up Stoppard's epic- Voyage, Shipwreck and Salvage - chronicle the lives and ideas of five artists and thinkers who laid the groundwork of the Russian Revolution: socialist writer Alexander Herzen, anarchist Michael Bakunin, novelist Ivan Turgenev, poet Nicholas Ogarev and critic Vissarion Belinsky."Tom never writes a play about one thing," O'Brien said. "He writes a play about a lot of stuff. This play is historical. All of these things actually happened to these people. It's very witty. It has to do with philosophy. It has to do
Self-explanatory 2006-11-18 02:48:00
Thanks to the LCT folks! Click on the pics to see the humungo verions.
For blog searchy purposes: Coast of Utopia: Voyage photos with Jennifer Ehle, Martha Plimpton, Ethan Hawke, David Harbour, Kellie Overbey and Annie Purcell.
Enthralling 2006-11-19 06:46:00 Here's a quick thumbs up from The Girl Will Scar You
Then we went on to The Coast of Utopia, the new Tom Stoppard play, which was very good. This was the 1st part of a 3 part saga that will end some time next year. Thoroughly enthralling work, especially with the subject matter (19th century Russia), but that's always interested me.
Same old 2006-11-20 07:04:00 A report from Voyage by law professor Leonard Link:
[...] Saw a matinee preview on Saturday of "Voyage," the first of three parts of Tom Stoppard's trilogy, The Coast of Utopia, at Lincoln Center Theater. This is Stoppard's ambitious attempt to provide a sweeping account of the young Russian intellectuals of the mid-19th century who chafed under the stifling Czarist system and sought a new nationalism grounded in Russian themes and intellectual freedom. It is the usual Stoppard mix of drama and comedy, with characters occasionally breaking into set speeches which defy the conventions of normal dialogue, sounding more like prose textbook than human speech. But those moments are merely scattered through the show; otherwise the dialogue is convincing and idiomatic.
The cast is very strong, especially Ethan Hawke as the fatally egotistical Michael Bakunin. It is a huge cast, wielded expertly by director Jack O'Brien in a stunning production. There was still some learning of lines
The toe green onion 2006-11-22 04:44:00 A NY Sun interview with Coast of Utopia director Jack O'Brien:Director Jack O'Brien currently has a new Broadway production. He also is in rehearsal with another Broadway venture. This is not surprising; Mr. O'Brien is one of the busiest theatre directors in America. What is unusual is that the show in performance and the one in rehearsal are the same play.Well, sort of. Mr. O'Brien is in the midst of a six-month commitment to the American premiere of "The Coast of Utopia," Tom Stoppard's heady three-part examination of 19th-century Russian thinkers. The first part, "Voyage," began previews October 17 and will open November 27. Meanwhile, rehearsals began on November 2 for the second section, "Shipwreck," which will start previews December 5."The first one hasn't really been seen by the press and we're already starting work on the second," Mr. O'Brien said. Despite his pressing situation, Mr. O'Brien sounded more chipper than anxious. Actually, he sounded chipper and anxious a Read more:onion
"Hemorrhaging art" 2006-11-26 14:05:00 The buzz is loudening!Juan Pedro Quiñonero responds to the mammoth NY Times Coast of Utopia reading list with his own pared down list of five books. In Spanish, so Babel it.Jeremy at CitySpecific gives a qualified thumbs up to Voyage but found Ms Ehle's character too tearful.NPR's Weekend Edition has a piece on the staging of the play (transcript here). Found via Charles Deemer's blog.Newsweek article on Sir Tom. Some quotage from the man:[...] Stoppard, a master at using wit and humanity to lighten up Big Ideas, denies his play is a polemic. "It's about a family, and brothers and sisters and struggles between lovers, and parents and children." Lofty ideals may drive his characters but they can't escape the emotional turbulence of their own lives, and Stoppard focuses on this human messiness. Exhibit A is the writer and early socialist Alexander Herzen (played by BrÃan F. O'Byrne), who appears in "Voyage" and anchors the next two plays, set mostly in Europe where the gentlemen
"Too much philosophy" 2006-11-27 02:42:00 Michael Riedel via The Playgoer:
"Voyage," Tom Stoppard's new play about radical politics in pre-revolutionary Russia, is dense, dazzling, beautiful and demanding.
But it's not for everyone. Indeed, there are always a few bail-outs at intermission. Stoppard, who ducks out of Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater for a smoke after the first act, keeps an informal tally of the people leaving his play. Lately, he's started asking them why.
The dialogue goes something like this:
Stoppard: "Excuse me. Why are you leaving this play?"
Lincoln Center Theater subscriber (age, about 97): "Who are you?"
Stoppard: "I'm the playwright."
Subscriber (fidgeting with infrared hearing device): "We can't tell you!"
Stoppard: "Please. I really want to know. Are you leaving because it's boring?"
Subscriber (crinkling a cough-drop wrapper): "Well, yes."
Stoppard: "Why is it boring?"
Subscriber: "Too much philosophy!"
David Hare, who has a play of his own in previews - "The Vertical Hour," starr
Hooo boy 2006-11-28 16:46:00 As rain is to pours, rave is to.....? So. Many. Reviews. Hardly even know where to start. Ehle-filtering of the reviews will happen post-sleep. For now keep an eye on others' roundups: there's a pretty comprehensive BroadwayWorld forum thread that is tracking most of the Voyage reviews, and Broadway Pulse also has a few with quotage. Also here's Tom Stoppard's response to the earlier "required pre-reading" piece in the NY Times, and an article by Martha Plimpton in the NY Daily News.
It's Pouring Alright 2006-11-28 21:47:00 Sign On SanDiego declares Voyage "Smart and Successful" in Anne-Marie Welsh's review.Frank Scheck also reports for Reuters UK. Read more:Alright
Ready? 2006-11-29 00:01:00 First up: photos! BroadwayWorld has opening night ones and AM New York's slideshow has a few stage stills. Have a look at our photo album where we've archived most of the Utopia photos found so far.Now, reviews. Click through to read the whole reviews; quoted here are the bits that mention her perf. Spoilers galore.Matt Windman, AM New York. Audio and slideshow.Joe Dziemianowicz, NY Daily News. O'Brien expertly guides the large cast. Hawke delivers a high-octane and edgy performance as the egotistical Bakunin; Easton adds dignity as his loving father. Crudup steals the show as the impassioned and impoverished Belinsky. Jennifer Ehle, as Michael's lovesick sister, provides much-needed emotion for the proceedings, while Martha Plimpton makes a vivid impression as his most adventurous sibling.Clive Barnes, NY Post. There will be more time later in the story to consider the actors swirling through the trilogy (O'Brien makes telling use, by the way, of the often derided Beaumont stag
Voyage opening night video! 2006-11-29 12:24:00 Here's a video
from opening night at Broadway.com, the first 10 seconds of which look pretty cool (damned dialup). Thanks for the tip Kate! Read more:Voyage
Voyage opening night videos 2006-11-29 12:24:00 Here's a video from opening night at Broadway.com. Very dialup-unfriendly, but worth the download as it contains clips from the play and soundbites from the cast. Thanks for the tip Kate! There's quotage from Ms Ehle about three-quarters of the way through, about how you don't need to do any homework for the plays (David Harbour concurs). NY1 has a video and written review of the play. Ehle-filter:Adding romantic complications are Bakunin's four daughters, two of whom are portrayed by Jennifer Ehle and Martha Plimpton. Stoppard might have fleshed out the women's roles more, but these fine actresses are excellent nonetheless.Here's a blog post from that critic, David Cote. There's another review by Leonard Jacobs of Backstage as well, no particular mentions. Broadway.com has "Word of Mouth" reviews by three "real theatregoers", also with video.Much discussion of The Coast of Utopia at All That Chat meanwhile: on Stoppard's letter to the editor, on whether the plays need to be s Read more:Voyage
, videos
Playbill on Voyage opening 2006-11-30 03:39:00 Playbill has an article on the opening with photos and quotage from everyone. Everyone except - yep, you gussed it.
Ctrl-F-"Ehle" goodness:
[sez Jason Butler Harner, aka Turgenev] "The second play is so beautiful. Jennifer and Brian are incredible in it. It's smaller in scope. It's still 10 years, but it's more about relationships, friends growing old together. They've all known each other about 10 or 15 years now so it's much more Chekhovian."[...]Stunning-looking by Tavern light, Amy Irving gamely played Mother for the play. "I get to be Mother Earth in this one — and, in the next one, not so much," she says with a sexy smile. "It's nice to be able to move from mother to Jennifer Ehle's contemporary."
The latest press review is from the New York Observer by John Heilpern. There's a blog review at Stories of a future librarian, discussion of Tony categories at BWW (the Tony awards administration committee is considering this question when they meet on Nov 30, says Playbi Read more:Voyage
Voyage, continued 2006-11-30 14:23:00 Francis X. Clines of the NY Times is as amused by the action in the audience as on the stage. In Time Out NY David Cote gives a 4/6 review. There's also video: go to "This Week in NYC" then "Theater: Week of 11/30/06" (dialup unfriendly). Polly Wittenberg of NY Theatre Guide quotes press reviews and gives the show a thumbs up.The large cast is full interesting actors but the star of Part 1 is an almost unrecognizable Billy Crudup playing the defiantly working class critic Belinsky, making his way in a world of social though not intellectual betters. Also memorable are the sincere Jennifer Ehle and the sparky Martha Plimpton as the Bakunin sisters Liubov and Varenka respectively. Making rather brief appearances here are the estimable Brian F. O'Byrne as Herzen and Josh Hamilton as Ogarev who play larger parts in Parts 2 and 3 of the epic. So much to look forward to.Don't miss it. Joseph Hurley of the Irish Echo also covers the show, and Slate has a brief roundup. Read more:Voyage
Voyage continued, continued 2006-12-01 00:30:00 Rumour has it that an extension of The Coast of Utopia is being announced tomorrow, as well as more marathon dates. Blogger Moxie the Maven reviews Voyage
, as does Karl:I certainly enjoyed the first section. I had expected excellent performances by Richard Easton, Jennifer Ehle, Martha Plimpton and Brian F. O'Byrne .. and they did not disappoint. But Ethan Hawke and Billy Crudup were revelations.David Cote blogs about his Time Out NY review.Here's a Theatermania photo feature we forgot to post earlier. There's one photo of Ms Ehle.BroadwayWorld is already announcing the start of Shipwreck previews on Dec 6.Someone's Tony nomination predictions features Utopia and Utopians prominently (check out the bottom category).
"Masterpiece in the making" 2006-12-02 07:16:00 Terry Teachout raves about Voyage in the subscription-only Wall Street Journal. Luckily there's an extract of his review at his blog, About Last Night. The relevant bit isn't extracted but here it is from the print version:The actors are uniformly fine, with Mr. Crudup and Jennifer Ehle taking top honors. Mark Bennett's incidental music adds considerably to the total effect of the production ... but I'm out of room! I'll have more to tell you in a few weeks, but so far, "The Coast of Utopia" shows every sign of being a masterpiece in the making
.The Hartford Courant has a spoilery blow-by-blow writeup of the show by Malcolm Johnson. Mentions:As acted by Jennifer Ehle, Martha Plimpton, Kellie Overbey and Annie Purcell, they are a bright, winsome and innocent gaggle of tutored goslings, much in awe of their brother, Michael. Ethan Hawke, dashing in a red-and-blue infantry officer's uniform, endows the younger Bakunin with a cocky charm, and endless intellectual pretensions.[...]The Read more:Masterpiece
Bon "Voyage" Tina! 2006-12-04 08:11:00 Your blog is in (sort of) capable hands. I'll try anyway. The Telegraph thinks this version of Voyage
is better than in London.
One could hardly accuse the Lincoln Centre of lack of ambition in its decision to revive The Coast of Utopia, Stoppard's trilogy about the 19th-century philosophers, intellectuals and writers who sowed the seeds of the Russian revolution. Wisely, it is opening the three parts separately, rather than over a single exhausting day as happened at the NT. And Jack O'Brien's stylish production of the first play, Voyage, with Billy Crudup, Ethan Hawke and Jennifer Ehle among an outstanding cast, is fleeter, more lucid and more involving than Trevor Nunn's staging at the National.
You still need to concentrate, hard, to follow the numerous characters through their mental and emotional journeys, and I still think Stoppard may have bitten off more than his audience can chew with this massively demanding epic. Nevertheless there is something downright heroic about t
"Shipwrecked" begins previews! 2006-12-06 06:21:00 Shipwrecked begins previews today and officially open on December 21st.
Here's a fairly interesting article on the Russians' views on Coast of Utopia.Excerpt: On the one hand, his interest in Russian history is flattering, but on the other it is alarming - our revolutionaries and idealists have long become a laughing stock all over the world. Tom Stoppard dispelled the apprehensions of the audience. He said that he was enchanted with the Russian thinkers, their acute sense of justice, temperament, and talent.
There were three major groups of questions to Stoppard that boiled down to the following: When and why did Russia become an inspiration for his trilogy? What would have happened if Herzen and others had taken power in the country instead of the Bolsheviks? How do the skeptical attitudes of such an inveterate postmodernist as Stoppard tally with idealistic sentiments of his characters?
Stoppard said that his interest in Russia had no point of departure but reflected British and
Coast of Utopia extended run 2006-12-07 04:41:00 All that Chat reports that the Coast
of Utopia
will extend for two extra months and run through to May 13.
TICKETS FOR EXTENSION GO ON SALE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8 at 10AM
EXTENSION WILL OFFER AN ADDITIONAL 21 OPPORTUNITIES TO SEE EACH OF THE THREE PARTS OF THE TRILOGYINCLUDING SIX THREE-SHOW MARATHON SATURDAYS
Leaving on a jet plane... 2006-12-07 13:46:00 Well guys, Tina and I are both away, but I'll be back on Monday for the next post. Talk amongst yourselves in the mean time. I hope too much news doesn't build up! Read more:Leaving
, jet plane
Shipwreck 2006-12-11 12:38:00 Well crew, I'm home so here's the first splash of Shipwreck
news and reviews.Firstly thank-you to Kate for the heads-up on this positive review of Ms Ehle from "Just Goes To Show You"(be warned that the rest is not so nice):
"...The one exception among the actors with a lot of material here is Jennifer Ehle, who gives an emotional, capivating performance as Herzen's wife."
Elizabeth Maupin's blog reported that she will see the marathon."And then there's the required reading list the New York Times published a week or two ago -- the tomes you supposedly have to read to understand this stuff." So much for not having to do any homework for the play! (*See the opening night video)
A positive review from All That Chat
But I saw part two, Shipwreck, this afternoon, and I found it completely enthralling. I saw it without having first seen Voyage. Perhaps part two is more interesting than part one? I think that the person with whom I attended, who had seen Voyage and liked it, liked thi
Billy Crudup Q&A 2006-12-12 23:36:00 Here's a Billy
Crudup Q&A from Broadway.com. He talks about the whole play and about his characters and some other actors.Here are the first two questions:You've just had your first performance of "Shipwreck," the second part of The Coast of Utopia. How did it go? It went very well, all things considered. To step out onto a stage where you're familiar with the set, with the actors, with the house, with the character—and you don't have a clue about a play—is a really novel feeling. I was mostly engaged in managing the feeling last night. But it was really fun. As far as your appearance in part 2, the playwright gives us a little clue in this stage direction: "Belinsky is thirty-six and less than a year from death." [Laughs] Tom doesn't leave much suspense there for the reader.
Another Tonys prediction 2006-12-14 06:48:00 Praise for Shipwreck, especially Jennifer Ehle from Theatre Snobbery at its Finest (don't you just love that name?)
As usual, the brilliant Jennifer Ehle shines as his wife, Natalie; she gives a beautifully natural and heartbreaking performance. Watch out for her at Tony time.
He Who Laughs is not so enthusiastic. Actually, don't read it. It's mean. Let's just say the title of his post contains a fart joke.
The LCT blog has been updated- "Where are the Divas?" Read more:Tonys
"Unstoppable Stoppard" 2006-12-18 01:20:00 Irish Echo Online has an article on Coast of Utopia. Excerpt:
The three segments of the stunningly prolific British dramatist's theatrical troika are titled, respectively, "Voyage," "Shipwreck" and "Salvage," with the first-named segment having opened at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater, to be followed in time by the middle and closing portions of the triptych.
"Shipwreck" will play its first preview performance on Dec. 6, with "Salvage" joining the first two parts on Jan. 30.
"The Coast of Utopia" will play at Lincoln Center through March 10, with an extension almost certain and with, according to most reports, a few days on which all three parts of the trilogy will be performed in marathon sessions lasting nearly nine hours, meal breaks not included.
Difficult as it is to assess a venture of this enormity on the basis of its starting segment, it seems safe to say that, if "Voyage" is any indication, the author of, among myriad other works including "Arcadia" and "The Rea Read more:Unstoppable
Recommend Site To A Friend
