Zombie and I recently had the pleasure of attending Roundabout Theatre Company's opening night performance of Waiting for Godot. And Roundabout got it RIGHT. (Allow me this break from film, if you will, since NYC is, after all, the theatre capital of the world. Nowadays, the number of artists who cross over between screen and stage is also greater than those who stick solely to one, so I feel like it is just as suitable to devote time and effort to live theatre as it is to film.)
Normally, I'm not a huge Godot fan. A poor production of it is really quite difficult to sit through, and a filmed stage production loses most if not all of its magic. But Roundabout Theatre's latest revival of the play hits the nail on the head. I haven't had as enjoyable a night at the theater in a long time. Perhaps its the stellar cast - Bil Irwin, Nathan Lane, John Goodman, and John Glover (who just secured a Tony Nomination for his performance). Perhaps it's that the show is played for laughs at all the right moments. Whatever the combination of things done right, this is a ticket to hunt for.
As soon as the lights went down at the final curtain (and after the 10 minute standing ovation), I turned to Zombie and said, "This is going to review well. Really well." I wasn't quite able to put my finger on all the things that I enjoyed so much about the show (I'm still not able to here). Sometimes you just know when something is working, and that was the case for me with Waiting for Godot. I strongly encourage anyone in NYC with cash to spare to go to Waiting for Godot.
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