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.
“Nothing to be done,” says Estragon. That goes for getting stood up, painful shoes, life and death — or this show’s exaggerated goofy takes on Pozzo (Hensley) and his servile Lucky (Crudup, a dead ringer for Riff Raff from “Rocky Horror”). Attention goes slack as a result. Fortunately the stars grip tight. Stewart is hearty and game. McKellen, even better, is hilarious and heartbreaking. It’s a fine bromance — Broadway is lucky to have it.
That's not to say the sense of futility and despair in this Godot isn't palpable. As this staging, vigorously directed by Sean Mathias, emphasizes, the comic and tragic elements of this absurdist classic are interwoven.
1956 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1957 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1971 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
1981 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
1988 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2005 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2006 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2009 | Broadway |
Roundabout Revival Broadway |
2010 | West End |
Return Engagement [West End] West End |
2013 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2015 | Off-Broadway |
Gare St Lazare Ireland and Dublin Theatre Festival Production Off-Broadway |
2017 | West End |
Arts Theatre Revival West End |
2021 | Off-Broadway |
TFANA's Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2023 | Off-Broadway |
Theatre for a New Audience Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
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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