So, it's time to strap in and engage in every College Director's favorite undertaking - Beckett's 'Godot'. It's well understood that Beckett revolutionized the art of theater and 'Waiting for Godot', in particular, has the potential to make an audience shuffle around afterwards, forever changed by the soul-searching, painful truth of it all. So, any Director taking this on either has a thesis to deliver, or is a practiced auteur, ready to switch those letters around and give us not just theater, but THEATRE...the actors must not only internalize the complex emotions brought forth by Beckett's brilliance, but outwardly symbolize the physical representation of that experience that is...yes...life itself. (Or something like that. Analyzing 'Godot' makes More Teeth's brain hurt, like it's Drama 101 Finals again...)
Contemporary Theater Co.'s Ryan Hartigan has placed himself equal to the task, so More Teeth visits this nomadic group at the URI campus on July 10th to see just how much Artaud cum Laurel & Hardy we get when a 20th Century classic meets Contemporary.
What's Under Your Hat?
In sitting down to ponder how to approach our review of this show, More Teeth was reminded of the heady, bygone days of two months ago when we scrutinized the Gamm's production of Stoppard's 'Rock and Roll'. The temptation was there to over-analyze Beckett's intentions and compare the director's vision and filter it all through the current zeitgeist and whatever other philosophical hoo-ha we could muster...but no one wants to read that and it's too hot to write that. Besides, 'Godot' makes 'Rock and Roll' look like a first grade reading primer and talking too much about its text and subtext will not ultimately answer the question - is this show worth seeing?
This is our first experience with anything by Contemporary Theater Co., an outfit from South County currently existing as a roaming production entity. Not unlike East Greenwich's Academy Players, they are currently homeless, performing at whatever venue that will take them in, show by show. Starting out as the Courthouse Theater Company in 2005 and changing the name to Contemporary last year, they have a solid vision, their organization is evident and their Staff seemingly together, so it's tough to see a group like this have to resort to using a lecture hall at URI to stage as surreal and bleak a spectacle as 'Waiting for Godot.' For, while this is not a college production, the feeling is that we are witnessing a well funded senior project that wasn't allowed use of the black box due to a scheduling conflict with the Drama department. And it's a shame, for this presentation is bleak, witty, energetic and engaging and deserves a better venue than a dressed up classroom.
Or does it? 'Godot' has become such an academic experience over the past 60-odd years, that (as mentioned above) it's difficult to simply sit and watch the show without trying to unravel all of the threads in the burlap. The fact that Hartigan has corrected all of us North Americans, who, in error, have been pronouncing the name Guh-Doh all our lives, only introduces more complexity. We find ourselves feeling smug for equating the pronunciation 'God-O' with all of the obvious religious overtones present/not present that we almost miss the fart and VD jokes when they fly by. We're sure that the adolescent boy sitting in the front row didn't, however. And I doubt if his experience was any less rich than ours. Maybe more so, in fact...for the lecture hall's sightlines are poor and only the front row really got a sense of everything happening on the floor...and a great deal of this show happens on the floor.
Hartigan notes that 'Godot' can be "as complex as you want it to be." And, for most of this show's built-in crowd, they want it complex. We seriously doubt that anyone outside of family and friends and hardcore theatergoers will choose to see this over 'La Cage' or 'Little Shops of Horror' (sic) because it's not harmless, it's not fluffy and it does not give you the warm fuzzies by the end of Act Two. You leave this show wondering what the hell you're doing with your life and, anyway, what's the point of trying? Well, a nice moonrise is worth it...or a good friend...or a nice hat...
The audience is treated to its own waiting game, before the show begins, as we're asked to sit and gather until past showtime, outside the classroom doors, wondering when it will all start. Even the standard preshow speech about exits and cell phones is given outside. Waiting for 'Waiting for Godot' becomes an anxiety-building exercise that helps frame the appropriate mood as we enter a stark white room with a single black tree, a mound of burlap and Nevan Richard's Estragon already present in repose. Apparently, the late entrance of the audience is not an accident or caused by a long-running cast hug onstage...we still wait....watching Estragon as the air fills with Eno-esque ethereal music. Nothing to do but wait...and wonder if we can move to a better seat before it actually starts. But it has started. This is all part of the show and anyone who enters late (be on time for this one!) is part of the set. They should hand out hats to latecomers...
And with Vladimir's entrance, we're plunged into the rapid torpor of Beckett's pacing. We're soon enough past wishing that we had starker surroundings and get involved in struggles for shoes, food and the power of hats. Stephen Strenio's Vladimir is intensely watchable, inhabiting the space like a human tumbleweed. He wraps his head around Beckett's elliptical language as if he were improvising it. Richard's Estragon is nearly at Strenio's level, but at times he seemed aware that he was being clever... he's often self-possessing and too in on the joke. His commitment to this material was of one who has worked hard and is showing us just how much. He climbs well, but doesn't always make it to the top. At times, the rapid interplay of words between "Gogo" and "Didi" has the air of two actors who rehearsed long and well to get this dialogue down but forgot to listen to each other along the way.
The duo is eventually joined by the eccentric Pozzo and his gimp-like manservant Lucky. Describing them any further, for those unfamiliar with the script, is pointless. You wouldn't believe it anyway. As Pozzo, Contemporary's Artistic Director Christopher Simpson does a slow burn, moving from a one-note villain (Madonna fake accent and all) to a pathetic mass of inert flesh so defeated and alien in demeanor that you wonder if Simpson is actually human. Lucky gets to steal the show, if there is any such thing to steal, in a tour-de-force monologue about...well, whatever you decide it's about. We stare at the moon because it's beautiful and compelling - meaning is an imposition we impose upon it. Just as we can impose several meanings to the boy(s) at the end of each act who tell us that Godot will not be coming today, but tomorrow "without fail." An actual child in the part would have lent an even creepier air to an already creepy production, but using a local high school girl (Laura Kennedy) works well enough and allows for further interpretation, if desired. Your mileage may vary.
And it will vary depending on your hat...Vladimir and Estragon's obligatory bowlers are supposedly rooted in class distinction based on Beckett's youth, but the Laurel and Hardy archetype was attached soon after the first production. Vladimir's own hat is a source of constant irritation and it is not until he dons the wizened crown of Lucky's pork pie that he feels he'll gain wisdom and comfort. Pozzo removes his to prove...something. Age? Humanity? A nice shave? In any case, we all wear our own individual hats in life, sometimes a different one for each occasion and circumstance. In attending 'Godot,' you may choose a professorial or student cap, allowing you to think deeply and wallow in New Testament imagery for two hours, nodding and chuckling sagaciously as you filter through the metaphors. Or, a pointed one will do just fine as you watch some slapstick, enjoy the sound of the poetry and wait for the moon. The sideways baseball cap is your choice? Well...welcome, but you may have entered the wrong building. A lot of these lecture halls do look alike.
Like many small-ish companies, we imagine Contemporary works on a shoestring budget and many technical elements simply need to be overlooked in order to fully enjoy and become immersed in the experience. The moon itself is the only real lighting besides on/off/dim (and in the small space there's no hiding the snapping of the switches as we change from one to the other) Unfortunately (and there is no other way around it in this venue) the effect is broadcast beforehand as we stare at the instrument focused out in the lobby onto the classroom window inside, so what could have been a simple, yet poignant surprise later on is given away. Hartigan, like many directors, does his own sound design, and has gone with the obvious Nick Drake choice (already done to death in every commercial and movie known to mankind) but everyone had a smile on their face when The Clash asked the question of the evening at show's end. More Teeth welcomes Hartigan to tell us what the other selections were so they can be added to our iPod. Costumes, designed by Jillian Thacher, work well for the most part, conveying an older, but undefined otherworldliness. But, she missed with Estragon's shoes...these are virtually characters, akin to the hats, in 'Godot' and seem to be an oversight. Not quite anachronistic, but just not fitting in with the yellow stripe running underneath and the modern construction. Such a small point...but that's what More Teeth notices.
So, is this show worth it? A definite yes. For only $15, you get a skillful presentation of a classic piece of modern theater, plus a free drink ticket at Kabuki restaurant in Wakefield afterwards. You could do so much worse for far more money at one of the many glitzfests running in RI theaters right now. And, one supposes that any number of cast and crew will also be there, hat in hand, ready and eager to discuss what it's all about.
'Waiting For Godot' is presented by the Contemporary Theater Co. at the University of Rhode Island Lippitt Hall , July 9-31.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.thecontemporarytheater.com or at the South Kingstown Chamber of Commerce (230 Old Tower Hill Rd., Wakefield) and at the Alternative Food Cooperative (357 Main St., Wakefield). Tickets are $15 (and includes a free drink ticket to Kabuki restaurant in Wakefield following the show, which makes up for not having concessions available onsite). Parking is off to the side and a trifle confusing, but seems plentiful. Arrive early to give you time to get to the top floor of Lippit Hall and sit in the front row. No concessions, but there is a gallery featuring interesting recycled art to look at during the wait, bathrooms are convenient and clean and it seems sufficiently air conditioned.
Show starts at 7pm, as opposed to the more common 8pm, so plan accordingly!
