Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – At TFANA, Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks lead Arin Arbus’s thoroughly satisfying revival of WAITING FOR GODOT

• By drediman
• November 15, 2023
• No Comments

Last night at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn, I caught Theatre for a New Audiences’s new production of Samuel Beckett’s seminal play Waiting for Godot. Originally scheduled to open prior to the pandemic, the anticipated revival finally arrives starring the enticing pairing of Michael Shannon as Estragon and Paul Sparks as Vladimir. As always, the play finds the duo putzing around on a roadside beside a tree, still waiting for the ever elusive Godot to make an appearance.

The play is a touchstone for many an accomplished actor. In the 1980s, Steve Martin and Robin Williams famously played these roles. In subsequent decades, the likes of Nathan Lane and Bill Irwin took to the task, as did Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart. Now we have Messrs. Shannon and Sparks. Both are superb actors, veterans of both stage and screen who have on numerous occasions exhibited mastery of their craft. As Estragon and Vladimir, they excel in peppering their contrasting performances with nuanced physicality and inspired line readings. Although their characterizations don’t illuminate the the play in any meaningfully new ways, their work here nevertheless showcases their deep understanding of and appreciation for the play and Beckett’s distinct aesthetic (unsurprising with the great Bill Irwin onboard as creative consultant). Joining them are Ajay Naidu as Pozzo, Jeff Biehl as Lucky, and the luminous young Toussaint Francois Battiste as A Boy – all are giving accomplished performances.

TFANA usual suspect Arin Arbus helms a sturdy, thoroughly satisfying revival that entertains as it prods introspection, as any solid Godot should. Visually, the production is both striking yet in keeping with Beckett’s prescriptive description of play’s chilly scenic landscape. Riccardo Hernández’s set cuts through TFANA’s black box with an imposing road, splitting the audience in two and effectively creating an expansive playground for Shannon, Sparks, and the rest of the fine company.

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WAITING FOR GODOT
Off-Broadway, Play
Theatre for a New Audience
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Through December 3