WAITING FOR GODOT
From Beyonce Knowles' scathing presidential command performance of Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" while New Orleans was still bailing out last year to Stephen Colbert's more recent excoriation of George W. Bush at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the timeline of artists sticking it to the man post-Katrina has heretofore been very D.C.-based. So it's nice to see New York put itself on the map with The Classical Theatre of Harlem's sublime, six feet high and rising production of Samuel Beckett's existentialist masterpiece Waiting for Godot.
The wrinkle here is that this stunning production, under the assured direction of Christopher McElroen, takes place in a waist-deep pool of dirty water. It's a brilliant conceit, wonderfully realized by set designer Troy Hourie, who places our woe begotten pair, Vladimir (Wendell Pierce) and Estragon (J. Kyle Manzay), on an unmistakable tar paper roof, no doubt one that wasn't foremost in Beckett's mind when he wrote Godot in the late 1940s. But it works beautifully. Sure, Godot as FEMA will probably piss off purists as this production careens through a variety of styles-from vaudeville to double-time hip hop-but what the hell is a Beckett purist anyway?
The Classical Theatre of Harlem has figured out a way to wish the Irish playwright a very happy centenary and also blow the President a big, sloppy Marilyn birthday kiss at the same time. We can only hope, like our doomed heroes, they take it on the road. Washington really needs to wait on this Godot. (Tony Phillips)