12/11/2013
Waiting
for Godot
By: Deirdre Donovan
Patrick
Stewart and Ian McKellen
in a
scene from Waiting for Godot
(Photo
credit: Joan Marcus)
When
it debuted in New York back in 1956, Samuel Beckett’s absurdist play, Waiting
for Godot, baffled the critics and public alike. But as it returns to
Broadway this season, in repertory with Pinter’s No Man’s Land, it is
welcomed, not only with open arms, but warm applause at the Cort Theatre.
Much
of the welcome - and plaudits - is due to the fact that two of the finest
living British actors are starring in the leading roles, Ian McKellen as
Estragon, and Patrick Stewart as Vladimir. Add on Shuler Hensley as Pozzo and
Billy Crudup as Lucky and you have an incomparable quartet of actors that would
make Beckett himself pleased to tuck into an orchestra seat to watch this two
and a half hour production. If there is such a thing as a dream team for Godot,
this foursome surely qualifies!
You
know the play. It’s an allegorical tale about four tramps-- Estragon, Vladimir,
Lucky, and Pozzo--who have seen better times. You get a chance to eavesdrop on
Vladimir and Estragon as they ruminate about all their petty irritations
(ill-fitting boots), problems, (aging, forgetfulness), and dilemmas (Should
they go on with their harsh lives?). Rather than reaching any resolution here,
they back-pedal into their past and riff about old times. They are soon enough
interrupted by the arrival of the whip-cracking Pozzo and his baggage-carrying
menial Lucky, tethered to the end of a rope. Pozzo matter-of-factly announces
that he is planning to sell Lucky at the fair. Pozzo and Lucky, though quite
different in some respects from Vladimir and Estragon, have the same penchant
for alternately acting abusively and affectionately toward each other.
There
are two other characters that need mention: Godot of the title, who Vladimir
and Estragon are endlessly waiting for on this barren landscape. Godot remains
offstage for the duration of the play. But his absence, and the mystery of his
being, is palpable in every scene and creates an intense sense of expectation
for Vladimir and Estragon. Though few details are known about Godot, or
precisely when he will come (if ever), this enigmatic character adds dramatic
tension to all the proceedings, and essentially is Vladimir and Estragon’s
raison d’etre. Or as Vladimir puts it: “Yes, in this immense confusion, one
thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come—.” Lastly, there is the
Boy (Colin Critchley performed on the evening I attended, and alternates with
Aidan Gemme), a lad arriving to report on whether Godot will be coming that
day, or no.
The
acting is by far the piece de resistance here. Thespians McKellen and Stewart
are well-matched, with neither actor trying to upstage the other. McKellen’s
Estragon is more subdued, and Stewart’s Vladimir possesses more fierce
tenacity. Hensley’s Pozzo and Crudup’s Lucky finely balance out this
four-hander. This pair, as Pozzo and Lucky, personifies a love-hate
relationship. And whether or not you agree that they are mirror-images of the
aforementioned men, Hensley and Crudup’s deliver superbly. Their colloquies and
vaudeville turns resonate with the same motifs that McKellen and Stewart’s
tramps spin out.
No
matter how you look, or turn this production, it comes up aces. There’s Stephen
Brimson Lewis’ minimalist set and raggle-taggle costume design, and Peter
Kaczorowski’s quite ordinary lighting to illuminate this patch of ground with a
solitary tree at near center stage. Director Sean Mathias keeps all the scenes
flowing, if not in fast-forward mode, seamlessly.
Curiously,
hats get a lot of attention in this play. Lucky can’t function (or think)
without his, and Vladimir and Estragon do a charming vaudeville skit in Act
Two, complete with swapping hats in lightning fashion. Hats, in fact, become a
kind of metaphor for “dignity” in this work. Little wonder that all the
characters are so preoccupied with them.
Waiting
for Godot
which once stirred up such a whirlwind of criticism on the Great White Way, has
now seasoned and become an old chestnut. And this new production, with its
top-notch cast and creative team, is a wonderful opportunity to see it again—or
for the very first time.
Waiting
for Godot
(in rotating repertory with No Man’s Land through March 2, 2014)
Cort
Theatre, 138 W. 48th Street, between 6th and 7th
Avenues, in Manhattan
For
tickets, phone (212) 239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com
Running
Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes including one intermission.
