Stop Waiting to See Waiting for Godot

The two-act play, from Samuel Beckett, is one of the oddest yet most profound – and debated – plays ever written. While the play seems simple at the start, it really is quite a complex mélange of characters – even though there are only a few and the entire play takes place in a single setting. For those who do not know much of the story, it starts out simply enough:

The play covers a period of two days in the lives of Vladimir and Estragon, two men who are waiting near a tree for the mysterious Godot to arrive. They spend their time waiting joking and talking about everything and nothing. While they are waiting, two other people appear – Pozzo and Lucky. These newcomers are certainly strange, as one of them has a rope tied around his neck. A mysterious boy appears several times as well, but the titular Godot never shows up, and still they wait.

What does all of this mean? That’s where all of the debate – and some of the fun, really – comes into play. Who are these people? Are they in purgatory? Are they really just sitting under a tree? The play is vague on the backgrounds, appearances, and even the motivations of the characters. In some works, that would be a detriment right there, but not here. In fact, those things help to work in favor of the play. The actors who come in and portray those roles have quite a bit of leeway in their own interpretation of the characters.

In the version of Waiting for Godot that’s on Broadway right now, you can see some of the best actors in the world performing these roles. Currently, Billy Crudup is playing Lucky, with Shuler Hensley as Pozzo, the new arrivals to Vladimir and Estragon’s tree. Vladimir is played by Patrick Stewart, while Ian McKellen portrays Vladimir.

Whether you are familiar with the play, or you are curious about the plot and want to see it so you can come up with your own conclusion, this performance is one for the ages. They phenomenal actors bring these strange characters to life.

Categorized in: Theater