Trusty dot-points

• John Heilpern of the NY Observer remains unconvinced by Coast of Utopia after seeing Salvage (note seating conspiracy theory!).
  
• Two reviews at Entertainment Weekly. Greg Kirschling found Salvage anticlimatic while his colleague Thom Geier opines thusly on the marathon:

  [...] Seeing all three plays in rapid succession, it's easier to tease out connections between the plays. You recognize, for instance, that when Jennifer Ehle's Natalie Herzen extols love as a universal ideal to which humans inevitably fall short in Shipwreck (Part 2), she's echoing similar comments that Billy Crudup's literary critic Vissarion Belinsky made in Voyage (Part 1). Ehle's speech — which occurs during a conversation with Amy Irving, playing the practical-minded Maria, an artist's muse in Paris and estranged wife of a Russian poet — comes during a rare moment when Stoppard allows the women to bring the dorm-room philosophizing of the play firmly into the domestic realm. By the time of the concluding play, Salvage, Stoppard's liberal use of political and philosophical tropes sometimes fails to blend with the pile-up of romantic entanglements and personal intrigue. But in the end, the overall impact of the play is stunning. [...]

• San Jose Mercury News' Karen D'Souza gives sensible advice in her review of the trilogy:

  [...] Some have been quick to point out that this may not be Stoppard's finest work (actually, my money is still on ``Arcadia''), but surely that is beside the point for all but academics. Caveats be damned. This is mandatory viewing for theater buffs.

  Don't be a lemming, though. If you only want to go because it's a snob hit, don't bother. Go because theater is more than singalong gimmicks, special effects barrages and merchandising juggernauts. Go because the theater can make your mind and heart gasp as one. [...]

  and there's this mention:

  [...] The women they love do not get equal stage time, but they offer fascinating portraits as they struggle for personal sovereignty in a man's world. The elegant Jennifer Ehle, the chameleon-like Amy Irving and the tart Martha Plimpton all do incisive work. [...]

• Robert Feldberg interviews child actress Kat Peters for NorthJersey.com. She's the only company member of Russian descent.
  
• A press release about CUNY's "Women in Theatre" series says that Utopia dramaturg Anne Cattaneo will be interviewed on the program..
• Did someone say backlash? Disgruntled open letter to Tom Stoppard, further snob-hit exposition by Jeremy of An American in Cambridge, a Dear John from Just Shows to Go You, and Robert Cashill finds Utopia a case of diminishing returns
• Random but cool: sketches of the real-life leading characters in Utopia.
  
• Among the zillions of Pride and Prejudice mentions in the blogosphere, I thought this was cute: enjoying the mini-series en famille.
• Note the new poll on the right hand column asking for your rating of Utopia. Here are the results from the previous poll where the question was whether you are seeing the play(s).

  Yes, one of the marathons 9% (11)
  Yes, all 3 plays separately 38% (44)
  Yes, 1-2 plays 11% (13)
  No, unable to go 40% (46)
  No, don't want to 2% (2)

• The banner upstairs is a present from Mez. We're not quite sure what to do with it, so thought we'd share it so y'all can think up creative ways to use it (bumper sticker? tattoo?).