WEST COAST PREMIERE! It is probably not their night. Ester and Val are understudies for a production of Waiting for Godot. They are committed to art, and frustrated by anonymity. They understand their purpose, but not the reasons they stay. They accept their fate, but question each other’s motives, all while waiting for “him” to appear…
A “gleefully absurd” (Time Out New York) backstage farce packed with profound insight, existential dread, and shameless punchlines, Waiting for Waiting for Godot is the Beckett companion you didn’t know you needed.
ull of stellar physical humor, entertaining wisecracking riffs, and philosophical discussions, the production is a string of wonderful ideas that would have better served the play had the concepts resonated a bit more consistently throughout the course of the evening.
...A little tightening and fine tuning would make this play absolutely exceptional.
At its core, Waiting for Waiting for Godot is a play for actors. It's a fun, interesting evening at the theatre that gets to the heart of what it means to wake up every morning and need to create. Artists will wait as long as they need to–to perform, to share–because they have no other choice.
Hanson’s play is a tribute to Beckett, but above all else it’s an acid-etched valentine to actors, those intrepid aspirants who forgo an easy path for the strenuous and oft thankless service of art.
Bruno Oliver and Joe Hernandez-Kolski play two hapless and frustrated understudies hoping for sudden injury or illness so they can finally go on as Estragon and Vladimir in Beckett’s game-changing classic. Understudying is by nature a bizarre trial for any actor, sitting in a musty, cluttered little space constantly staring at yourself in the makeup mirrors and wondering if you still remember the lines and blocking. With tongue firmly implanted in cheek, playwright Dave Hanson gets it, his hilarious little gem of a play perfectly capturing any artist’s age-old dilemma—and so do director Jacob Sidney and his exemplary pair of veteran physical comedians who collectively breathe life into a piece that could be a disaster in less talented hands. In a current end-of-the-year season bursting with exceptional productions in our often parched LA theatre season as the holidays approach, I hope this less dazzling or well-appointed but highly recommended little production doesn’t, like poor unappreciated Ester and Val, get lost in the shuffle—especially for anyone who has ever been dumb enough to decide to be an actor or has been around anyone who is.
The two leads, Bruno Oliver and Joe Hernandez-Kolski perform with the same comical timing in the style of a comedy team from the days of vaudeville and burlesque when physical comedy was king! (Also very common as seen in two reel film comedies of yore before the movies learned how to “talk”!) Jacob Sidney as director keeps their pacing up from frantic to near panic stricken as the duo hope they can emote the lines that made Beckett one of the theater world’s most respected playwrights.
This tight full length one act will charm fans of Samuel Beckett with familiar references and might introduce Godot to folks who may not have heard the good news.
Playwright David Hanson’s Waiting for Waiting for Godot is its own inspired tragi-comedy nestled into a backstage dressing room where two understudies wait to be called to the stage to perform their roles of Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot in the event of an emergency. Hanson’s play tilts rather a bit more on the scale towards comedy than tragedy and it soon becomes clear that the two schmucks, Ester (Bruno Oliver) and Val (Joe Hernandez-Kolski) will never get to set foot in front of an audience. The title says it all.
ull of stellar physical humor, entertaining wisecracking riffs, and philosophical discussions, the production is a string of wonderful ideas that would have better served the play had the concepts resonated a bit more consistently throughout the course of the evening.
...A little tightening and fine tuning would make this play absolutely exceptional.
At its core, Waiting for Waiting for Godot is a play for actors. It's a fun, interesting evening at the theatre that gets to the heart of what it means to wake up every morning and need to create. Artists will wait as long as they need to–to perform, to share–because they have no other choice.
Hanson’s play is a tribute to Beckett, but above all else it’s an acid-etched valentine to actors, those intrepid aspirants who forgo an easy path for the strenuous and oft thankless service of art.
Bruno Oliver and Joe Hernandez-Kolski play two hapless and frustrated understudies hoping for sudden injury or illness so they can finally go on as Estragon and Vladimir in Beckett’s game-changing classic. Understudying is by nature a bizarre trial for any actor, sitting in a musty, cluttered little space constantly staring at yourself in the makeup mirrors and wondering if you still remember the lines and blocking. With tongue firmly implanted in cheek, playwright Dave Hanson gets it, his hilarious little gem of a play perfectly capturing any artist’s age-old dilemma—and so do director Jacob Sidney and his exemplary pair of veteran physical comedians who collectively breathe life into a piece that could be a disaster in less talented hands. In a current end-of-the-year season bursting with exceptional productions in our often parched LA theatre season as the holidays approach, I hope this less dazzling or well-appointed but highly recommended little production doesn’t, like poor unappreciated Ester and Val, get lost in the shuffle—especially for anyone who has ever been dumb enough to decide to be an actor or has been around anyone who is.
The two leads, Bruno Oliver and Joe Hernandez-Kolski perform with the same comical timing in the style of a comedy team from the days of vaudeville and burlesque when physical comedy was king! (Also very common as seen in two reel film comedies of yore before the movies learned how to “talk”!) Jacob Sidney as director keeps their pacing up from frantic to near panic stricken as the duo hope they can emote the lines that made Beckett one of the theater world’s most respected playwrights.
This tight full length one act will charm fans of Samuel Beckett with familiar references and might introduce Godot to folks who may not have heard the good news.
Playwright David Hanson’s Waiting for Waiting for Godot is its own inspired tragi-comedy nestled into a backstage dressing room where two understudies wait to be called to the stage to perform their roles of Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot in the event of an emergency. Hanson’s play tilts rather a bit more on the scale towards comedy than tragedy and it soon becomes clear that the two schmucks, Ester (Bruno Oliver) and Val (Joe Hernandez-Kolski) will never get to set foot in front of an audience. The title says it all.
