Henley Street presents: Waiting for Godo

Henley Street Theatre Company premiered their fourth and final production of the season this past weekend – Samuel Beckett’s classic Waiting for Godot. Long before Seinfeld gave us a show about nothing, the bitingly absurd Beckett penned, “a play in which nothing happens – twice.” The small cast and crew of Godot made an admirable work out of all that nothingness, providing moments for laughter and contemplation along the way.

April 13, 2011; 6:00 AM • by Stephanie Ganz

Set atop a barren hill with only a rock and a leafless tree, the play focuses on Vladimir (Bob Nelson) and Estragon (Bob Jones,) two lost souls, waiting for someone called Godot. In the production notes, director James Ricks sheds some light on the pronunciation of the play’s title, an aspect that can be as vital or trivial as one’s personal interpretation allows:

Originally written in French, entitled En Attendant Godot, this play expressly employs the French pronunciation as mandated by the playwright, even in English speaking productions…there you have it: God-oh…While Beckett was adamant about this pronunciation, he held to the end that no theological statement was trying to be made in the process.

The set and lighting design reflect the sparseness dictated by the playwright to the letter, and the two Bob’s make noble, memorable efforts portraying characters that have been played by the likes of Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Nathan Lane, and Ian McKellan. Indeed, Jones does a superb job imparting a kind of Don Knotts feeling to Estragon, while Nelson combines his Shakespearean visage and commanding voice to lend an absurd seriousness to Vladimir – in the best of ways.

But the true gem of the production is Jerome Weiss’s portrayal of Lucky, the slave. From the moment Weiss appears on stage, there is a sense of sorrow, a feeling of unbearable burden that Weiss conveys without uttering a single line. His slouching frame appears tortured by the weight of his load and the rope hanging from his neck. His master, Pozzo (Foster Solomon) refers to him as “Pig!” and demands a tired litany of picking things up and putting them back down for seemingly no reason at all. When, toward the end of the first act, Lucky finally delivers his ‘thinking monologue,’ Weiss fills the character with a frenetic energy that blends superbly with the script to mirror the inner workings of the mind. It is truly a sight to behold.

As nothing continues to happen and the play comes to an end, the audience may well wonder, ‘What have I just witnessed?’ Those familiar with Beckett in name only may wonder, ‘Why is he considered such a great playwright?’ It’s important to remember not the action of the play, but rather the message – That we are all waiting, that all of life is waiting, and that waiting is punctuated by moments of absurd humor and absurd tragedy, all to be taken in stride. When taken from this approach, Godot is a slightly easier pill to swallow because, guess what guys, Godot never shows.

This season finale marks the last time that the Henley Street Theatre Company will work out of the Pine Camp Cultural Arts Center, which has been its home for the past four seasons. For their fifth year, Henley Street will relocate to SPARC’s new black box theatre, located at 2106-A North Hamilton Street, where they will increase their seasonal load from 3 to 4 plays.

Tickets are still available for the remaining performances of Godot, which runs until April 30th.

Photos by: Vinnie Gonzalez & Chris Smith