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ARCADIA Herald-Leader Review

Mar 15th, 08

Smarten up and be entertained by the riches of Stoppards Arcadia

By Candace Chaney HERALD-LEADER THEATER CRITIC

very now and then a rare play comes along that is like the perfect date – smart, funny, sexy, sophisticated – and maybe a little bit intimidating. Actors’ Guild of Lexington’s latest production, Arcadia, is such a play.

Before you go thinking it is out of your league, think again. Playwright Tom Stoppard’s script is so sweeping in its content, from math and physics to history and poetry to sex and religion; it is bound to strike at least one of your fancies, probably many more. What’s more, its diverse subject matter (life, the universe and everything!), as well as its sharply hewn characters and casually elevated wit, offers endless ways “in” to the production so that all but the very determined naysayer will be easily seduced intellectually, emotionally, and maybe even spiritually.