Broadway Critics Praise Revival

BROADWAY MAGAZINE – Nothing to be done. The final play of the brilliant Broadway season of 2008-2009 opened last night, and today we offer our review matrix for Waiting For Godot, starring Nathan Lane and Bill Irwin. The praise for this production is nearly unanimous, with exceptional notices for stars Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin, John Glover, and John Goodman. Critics are in agreement that this production succeeds in capturing Beckett’s comic spirit, without sacrificing the haunting tone of the play. With strong reviews coming on the eve of the Tony Award nominations, look for Waiting For Godot to be one of the biggest hits on Broadway this Spring. Excerpts from reviews below:

Tramps for Eternity: But in 2009, Anthony Page’s smart, engaging production for the Roundabout Theater Company makes it clear that this greatest of 20th-century plays is also entertainment of a high order. –Ben Brantley, New York Times

An Absorbing Revival: With Nathan Lane and Bill Irwin as the two funny-sad tramps Estragon and Vladimir, John Goodman as the overbearing Pozzo and John Glover as the half-mad, enslaved Lucky, this most famous play by Samuel Beckett fully lives up to its reputation as one of the greatest works of 20th-century theater. –Malcolm Johnson, Hartford Courant

Accessible ‘Godot,’ absurd ‘9 to 5′ round out Broadway season: But like the current revival of Eugene Ionesco’s Exit the King, this Godot is noteworthy less for its cast members’ marquee value than their ability to make the existential, universal questions posed by the text accessible to a mass audience. –Elysa Gardner, USA Today

Lane Tramps Through Godot: Theatrical tradition, though, has always relied on spicing up things with shtick from a savvy director and expert comic actors. So Anthony Page has staged in some extra comic touches, and the actors, too, may have supplied notions of their own, but without overstepping Beckett’s text or intentions. –John Simon, Bloomberg

Review: Lane-Irwin balance emotions in ‘Godot’:
Master and servant are played out by John Goodman as the lordly Pozzo and John Glover as his ever-obedient Lucky, surely the most perversely named character in the Beckett canon. Both are superb: Goodman, often roaring his lines with hurricane force; Glover, silent except for a long gibberish speech near the end of Act 1. –Michael Kuchwara, AP

Broadway revival of “Godot” worth waiting for: Lane infuses his line readings with his trademark snappish delivery, bellowing voice and perfect comic timing, while the circus-trained Irwin enhances his gentler turn with his expert miming and physical clowning talents. –Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

Waiting For Godot Review: Aside from its title, there’s no more perfect summation of “Waiting for Godot” than Estragon’s complaint “Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it’s awful.” But there’s no trace of that monotony in the perversely gripping non-drama and fine-grained emotional textures of this haunting revival. –David Rooney, Variety

Theater Review of Waiting For Godot: Nathan Lane and Bill Irwin display fantastic chemistry together as bosom buddies Estragon and Vladimir, excelling in both the vaudeville comedy and heartbreaking melancholy aspects. While Lane’s is deeply emotional, he resists the urge to indulge in the comic shtick that has marked so many of his recent performances.—Matt Windman, am New York

Waiting For Godot: Along with the aforementioned tree that Beckett stipulates as the play’s setting, designer Santo Loquasto supplies a plethora of totemic rocks. The resulting look may resemble a lunar landscape, but the play’s lunacy is only partially realized. –David Finkle, Theatermania

Waiting For Godot: Nathan Lane and Bill Irwin, two of our most skilled stage clowns, find the zestful comic joy and soul-crushing despair in Beckett’s sorrowful everymen. –David Sheward, Back Stage

Tags: Bill Irwin, Broadway, Broadway Magazine, Broadway.tv, Nathan Lane, Reviews, Waiting For Godot

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