theatre review, ARCADIA, March 3

So, we went to see Arcadia last Thursday.   We saw the original Broadway production of this back in the mid 90's - and even then it was confusing to us and we needed the friend we went with to explain what we failed to grasp.   I thought 15 years would make me wiser and more able to comprehend what Tom Stoppard was trying to convey.  Boy, was I wrong.  I don't know if the fact that this production was basically a carbon copy of the one from the 90's - basically one long wood table, a few doors and that's about it, the fact that the extremely thick English accents were very hard to understand in the front mezzanine, or that I was extremely tired for a Thursday night- that failed to grasp my attention, but Scott and I looked at each other at intermission and decided to just leave and head home.  I can't remember the last show we left at intermission and I know there are many people out there who think this show is one of the best plays of the past 20 years so I guess I'm just not intelligent enough to get the point of this play.   The strange thing is, I thoroughly enjoyed Stoppard's COAST OF UTOPIA - which is a 3 play, 8 to 9 hour adventure - from a few years back - so I was thinking that I was now up to Arcadia - but I guess I was wrong.

Amazon link to the paperback of the play...Arcadia: A Play

Amazon link for Coast of Utopia - a much better play in my opinion! -The Coast of Utopia: Voyage, Shipwreck, Salvage