A Modern “Godot”
Awaits at the Hudson
If you like modern theater, you may very well like this version of “Waiting For Godot” at The Hudson Theatre. Like “A Dolls House” at the same theater, Jamie Lloyd put “Godot” in the modern. Like Ibsen’s “Doll House”, Lloyd takes Beckett’s play and brings it into today’s times... no visible tree, only a large cone-like set (Soutra Gilmour). The set to me signifies endless time.
Much like “Dolls House”, the lighting is dark, maybe too dark. Lloyd is most likely portraying Estragon’s (Keanu Reeves) and Vladimir’s (Alex Winter) darkness in life, their hopelessness. The direction, as well as the lighting (Jon Clark) bring forth the lost hope of these two men.
“Godot” in and of itself is not for everybody. Many of the diatribes that fill the Hudson Theatre go on in an existentialist/ absurdist vernacular. If you don’t listen carefully, it can be a long two hours for an audience member.
Unlike “Sunset Blvd” which Jamie Lloyd also directed, Reeves and Winter have difficulty holding the leads. In “Sunset”, the leads commanded their roles. It became evident that the “Bill and Ted” actors were out of their depth when Lucky (Zaynn Arora) and Pozzo (Brandon J. Dirden) appeared. The two played their roles flawlessly with high emotion. Reeves and Winter both had trouble bringing the roles that they play to perfection.
At times, “Godot” gets slow and has many audience members catching up on their sleep. Coupled with the darkness of lighting and set, the slowness tests the audience’s patience. Add the modern take, and many traditional theater lovers will find this play downright boring. To the modern theater goer, I think they will find this play exceptional on all levels, sans the inconsistent acting.