The Coast of Utopia: Salvage (Sunday, 3.18.07)
Vivian Beaumont Theatre, New York City
By: Tom Stoppard, Jack O’Brien (direction)
Starring: Brian F. O’Byrne (Herzen), Matt Dickson (Sasha), Annie Purcell (Tata), Amanda Leigh Cobb (Olga), Felicity LaFortune (Maria Fomm), Jennifer Ehle (Malwida), Mia Barron (Mrs. Blainey), Richard Easton (Count Stanislaw Worcell), Ethan Hawke (Michael Bakunin), Josh Hamilton (Nicholas Ogarev), Martha Plimpton (Natasha Tuchkov Ogarev), Jason Butler Harner (Ivan Turgenev), Kellie Overbey (Mary Sutherland)
In Part One, we watched as a young group of Russian thinkers grabbed the reins from the older group of leaders and plotted their strategy for achieving greater enlightenment. Each man had his own method and vision, and they often clashed. But they all could agree that they were not content with the situation as it was, and that they longed to achieve something greater. Over the course of the first and second parts, we watched as each of these men strived towards their broader goals (criticism of the tsar, freedom of the serfs, revolution), but at the same time struggled with their own existence, their own personal relationships, and their own disappointments. Herzen (O’Byrne), an aristocrat who believed in freeing the serfs, lay at the center of these struggles.
In Part Three, Herzen remains at the center, but new, younger characters are entering. As he struggles to deal with the loss of his wife and child, he inhabits a new world, including an affair with his best friend’s wife, Natasha Ogarev (Plimpton) with whom he has several children (including twins who perish in disease-ridden Paris). Herzen also comes to battle the new guard, new young revolutionaries who are not content with the battles or methods of the past. Of course, Bakunin embraces these youths, but Herzen is much more circumspect.
Herzen also must come to grips that his victories are not what they seem. When the serfs are finally freed, Herzen and the others celebrate their bloodless victory, as it came by decree of the tsars. Only later do they realize the hollowness of their victory, since the serfs do not own the land they once occupied, and essentially become economic slaves to their former masters. It is a disappointing moment when Herzen realizes the failure, which puts into perspective a lifetime worth of work.
Part Three is not quite as compelling as the gripping Part II, but it is a fitting end to a truly epic trilogy of plays. What makes this production so impressive is its core of fine actors playing a multitude of roles. In Part Three, Jennifer Ehle takes on the part of the German nanny and tutor Malwida, whose impact is so great that she even takes away Olga (Cobb) who becomes Italian and forgets even how to speak Russian. She is wonderful in the role, and it is a nice counterpoint since she played the girl’s mother in Part Two. Other cameos are equally compelling, including Richard Easton’s bumbling but well-intentioned play as the Polish Count Stanislaw Worcell, a revolutionary who sacrifices his family and home in order to lead the cause (and, who Herzen notes Worcell’s sacrifices and wonders where it got him). Josh Hamilton and Jason Butler Harner continue their fine work as Ogarev and Turgenev, the latter in particular deriving more laughs out of his material.
Part Three feels like the conclusion, and as a result, there is a feeling of complacency or resolution. It is humorous and a times touching, but lacks the headiness of Part I or the emotional depth of Part II. That said, it is very engaging, and the fine performances are noted throughout.
In the end, this production should be noted for its fine direction and inventive staging. With its glossy sets, its use of sheets and simple props and well-placed (and well-composed) music, this is a sterling production worthy of the fine cast assembled. The play is a good, though not great one, but it is the production that makes it noteworthy.
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