The (Hot) Men of Arcadia, and the Random Things You Should Know About Them

The stage at the Barrymore Theater, where Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia opens on Thursday, is loaded with hotties these days.  Between Tom Riley, Billy Crudup and Raúl Esparza—the rakish lead Septimus Hodge, douchey professor Bernard Nightingale and lovestruck mathematician Valentine Coverly, respectively—it’s almost impossible to know where to look first at curtain call.  This is not a complaint.

But wait.  What’s that you say?  You’d like to know more about these fine-ass gentlemen?  Well.  You’ve come to the right place.  Below, a few fun facts about the men of Arcadia:

• All three actors have played Septimus Hodge at one time or another in their careers.  Billy Crudup even described playing the role as “winning the lottery.”
• Speaking of Mr. Crudup, he is perhaps best known for his turn as rock star Russell Hammond in Cameron Crowe’s 2000 film Almost Famous—the semi-autobiographical story of a teenaged rock writer who followed a rising band on tour.  Even if you prefer musical theater to rock and roll, the film is worth a watch for its insightful portrait of fans’ relationships to the music they love most.
• British actor Tom Riley once played another historical rake—Mr. George Wickham—in the 2008 BBC mini-series Lost in Austen. The mini-series was a fantasy adaption of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, which sent a modern-day girl back in time to live in the novel.  Riley’s Wickham, besides being handsome and charming, offers a totally different look at the much maligned character.
• Stage-star—and Craptacular favorite—Raúl Esparza has been nominated for a Tony Award in all four categories for which actors are eligible.  Sadly, he has yet to take the trophy home.  To comfort ourselves over this atrocity, we like to imagine Raúl and Jonathan Groff hugging it out in the men’s room after their 2007 loss to David Hyde Pierce in the Lead Actor in a Musical category.

Photo: Carol Rosegg