Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart star on Broadway in a limited season repertoire of Harold Pinter's No Man's Land and Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, directed by Sean Mathias, in the fall of 2013.
Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot follows two consecutive days in the lives of Vladimir (Patrick Stewart) and Estragon (Ian McKellen), who divert themselves by clowning around, joking and arguing, while waiting expectantly and unsuccessfully for the mysterious Godot. Waiting for Godot premiered in Paris in 1953, followed by London in 1955 and eventually opened in New York in 1956.
I prefer my 'Godot' to be more of a lean intellectual vaudeville than this antic production, but little matter. This one, with more song-and-dance clowning, is also true to tradition of these existential tramps waiting for a Godot who never comes. More puzzling is the set (sets and costumes for both plays are by the versatile Stephen Brimson Lewis). Instead of Beckett's demands for just a tree and a country road, there are broken building facades that suggest crumbling urban ruin.
McKellen as Estragon is hysterically dim while Stewart's Vladimir is more of a hand-wringer. Their comfort with each other and the roles — Mathias directed them in a 'Godot' in London in 2009 — is a wonder to watch: They laugh and bicker and reconcile like old friends or lovers, each settled into a comforting rhythm. They even have a soft-show shuffle with bowler hats that will make you cheer.
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| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Patrick Stewart |
| 2014 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | Waiting for Godot |
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