Waiting for Godot Reviews
Los Angeles Times- Highly Recommended
"...What’s most surprising about the excellent Geffen Playhouse production of Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” starring Rainn Wilson (“The Office” and Aasif Mandvi (“The Daily Show,” “This Way Up”), is how subdued the clowning is from two actors known for their offbeat comic talents."
Stage and Cinema- Highly Recommended
"...Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot has generated volumes of literary, dramatic and academic commentary for more than 70 years. Now onstage at Geffen Playhouse, this new revival features Rainn Wilson (The Office) and Aasif Mandvi (The Daily Show) in the lead roles of Vladimir, a.k.a. “Didi”, and Estragon “Gogo”."
LA Splash- Highly Recommended
"...WAITING FOR GODOT is produced in association with Gare St. Lazare Ireland and offers an excellent opportunity for today’s audiences to experience the existential classic, WAITING FOR GODOT. Even without any major developments, the play manages to amuse and entertain – and, in its own way, become gripping and fascinating."
Stage Raw- Recommended
"...As in Hamlet, Godot's clown duo, Vladimir and Estragon (Rainn Wilson and Aasif Mandi), spend most of Beckett's play trying to figure out what on Earth is going on' For V and E, that question is tied to existential questions of how they came to their plight. Who is in charge' Should they leave the desert in which they've landed' Should they stay' Should they go' And if they go, should they do so together or apart'"
Ticket Holders LA- Recommended
"...Still, this is truly magnificent effort and, if you never were privileged enough to see Alan Mandell and Barry McGovern interpret Sam Beckett’s most notorious characters, or have only ever read and studied Waiting for Godot in some high school or college theatre class, you owe yourself a trip to the Geffen to catch this one; it’s well worth the effort, I promise you."
Larchmont Buzz- Highly Recommended
"...When it comes to Waiting for Godot and its theatrical study of human existence, opinions range from strong admiration to utter confusion. Debates can begin with the title and work around to the play's meaning Critics can play guessing games and surmise that the title character, Godot, is playwright Samuel Beckett's not-so-subtle nod to God. Conversely, some scholars of this master of Theatre of the Absurd hypothesize that Godot is more about waiting for death."
The Hollywood Times- Highly Recommended
"...In a performance that feels like a broken-down version of his character from The Office after the apocalypse, Rainn Wilson gives weight to Vladimir, bringing forth the character’s restless desperation to solve the impossible. Vladimir cannot keep still because he feels so helpless in the tragic face of society’s disintegration. He is the fractured soul at the core of the play. Wilson delivers a restrained performance of tortured significance by pulling back at just the right moments."
Broadway World- Highly Recommended
"...As embodied by Rainn Wilson and Aasif Mandvi in the revival of GODOT at The Geffen Playhouse, they are a formidable pair. Beckett’s play about the unknowable darkness of the human condition has - go figure! - long been catnip for comedians, and you get why Wilson (best known for THE OFFICE) and Mandvi (EVIL, THE DAILY SHOW) would want a whack at them. "