By Andrew Gans
10 Jun 2007
Billy Crudup, who won a 2007 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his work in the Tom Stoppard trilogy The Coast of Utopia, spoke about the audiences who attended the Utopia marathons.
"The fact that there were 1,200 people for nine separate marathons that wanted to come to 11 hours of Russian philosophy was totally and utterly and inspiring," Crudup said in the Tony press room.
"They were thrilled from beginning to end," Crudup added. "They were by far the most engaged houses . . . . [Backstage you could] feel the thrill of having that many people committed to entertainment for that long. It was really a lovely experience."
Voyage, which opened Nov. 27, is set in the Russian countryside and in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Part two, Shipwreck, which opened Dec. 21, begins outside Moscow 13 years after the first part and follows the characters to Paris, Dresden and Nice. Part three, Salvage, which opened Feb. 18, follows the characters to London and Geneva over the course of 12 years. The three plays were performed in rotation until the trilogy closed on May 13.
