Review: ENDGAME Amazing Ride

Director Aaron Posner of American Players Theater, writes in his Director's Notes, "The first time I read 'Waiting for Godot' was in high school. I thought it was strange, mysterious, compelling ...and just very weird. I kind of liked it...but I didn't get it. I first read 'Endgame' in college. I thought the same thing."

Endgame is an amazing ride...I have no idea what it's about.

David Daniel portrays Clov with tenderness and great comedic timing. The sheer musicality of his walk sets the pace for the entire performance.

Brian Mani as the blind chair bound Hamm is commanding and he plays well with the wit that Beckett has written.

The pair are captivating.

Sarah Day and John Pribyl do a great job as the trash bin bound Nell and Nog (respectively).Like a pair of lost comedic Oscar the Grouches they pop in and out of scenes from their respective receptacles.

I note the comedy, but rest assured this is no farce...but what is it? I haven't the foggiest idea.

This is a piece that brings you in, holds you hostage and when it finally lets you go it leaves you with a Stockholm Syndrome sense of wonder. One of the things that you may wonder is, "What in the Hell did I just go through?"

I know that I was dazed and confused joining the rest of the audience in getting to our collective feet as we applauded, awarding this magnificent cast with the standing ovation they so richly deserved. Truth of the matter is that I stayed confused until the talk back. (Thank God for the talk back)

My confusion was covered. What I learned was that Beckett writes about existentialism. Once I realized that there was really no linear plot per se, I got it. No...really!

If I may. I go through the exact same thing when I watch a Terrence Malick film like "The Tree of Life". I get caught up in the moments as they are unveiled, both beautifully and horrifically, I don't look for the "through line", and I merely forget that I am an outside observer.

In the beginning of Endgame, I was uncomfortable. The audience laughed (as they should have) but I was having no part of it. I felt like a voyeur witnessing something private...something personal. As the show moved along I was transformed from voyeur to participant. I became part of the play! I remember some point about an hour and 20 minutes into the hour and forty minute run time, looking around and being taken aback by the fact that I was in a theater. Now how did that happen?

That is the effect that this performance had on me. The cast drew me in, embraced me as one of their own, and then, ever so gently released me. It was an amazing ride, and I have no idea what it was about.

Endgame runs until the middle of October. For further information on this and all American Players Theater performances, click the attached link.

http://americanplayers.org/plays/endgame

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