Waiting for Godot in New York
Posted by Dylan on June 16, 2009Waiting for Godot is a play written by Samuel Beckett and is currently in a revised production in New York at the Roundabout Theatre Company. It stars Bill Irwin, John Goodman, Nathan Lane and John Glover was nominated in this year’s Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Play. It was directed by Tony Award winner Anthony Page. The Tony Awards are commonly considered to be the highest American Honor any performance, designer, director or writer can win. They were held at the Radio City Music Hall and many people enjoyed a fine dinner at the best restaurants New York City before and sometimes after they were held.
The play focuses on two main characters Vladimir and Estragon as they linger in a desolate area waiting for the arrival of an unknown character named Godot. This is the only setting that is presented in the two-act script, and the characters are constantly in a state of suspended ambivalence about whether to remain or go. They are soon joined by Pozzo and Lucky who complicate matters and increase intention. The play as many vaudeville elements and is indebted to carnivalesque music hall traditions.
There are many philosophical questions posed by the play and even more philosophical theories written about it. One of these involves who the never seen character of Godot is supposed to represent. God is a common association to Godot, but is many times considered to be a too easy answer. Another theory suggests that Pozzo is actually Godot, though Beckett himself denies this. Other theories discuss the intention of this basically plot-less play. There is a political theory that suggests the play is an allegory for the Cold War. Existentialists see it as posing the question of the nature and purpose of human existence. There are also psychological interpretations of the play. Jungian theory associates the characters with the four aspects of the soul, the ego, shadow, animus or anima.
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