All three parts of Stoppard's Utopia — Voyage, Shipwreck and Salvage — were presented in marathon form nine times: Feb. 24, March 3, March 10, March 24, March 31, April 7, April 21, April 28 and May 5. "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.