Waiting for Godot

 Waiting for Godot
Theatre for a New Audience
Polonsky Shakespeare Center
November 11, 2023 

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Theatre for a New Audience’s production of Waiting for Godot is dark, gritty, and haunting.  Under Arin Arbus’ direction, the poetry in Samuel Beckett’s writing emerges as the rhythms in the dialogue rise and play out between the characters.  Ms. Arbus creates honest moments of companionship and  comfort, as well as truthful instances of distress and suspense.  The cast delivers masterful performances, pulling the audience deeper and deeper into their endless waiting and mounting despair.

Estragon (played by Michael Shannon) and Vladimir (played by Paul Sparks) are waiting for Godot.  They know they are in the right location, by the tree.  Maybe it’s the wrong day.  How many days have they been there?  They think they see him coming, but it is Pozzo (played by Ajay Naidu) and his servant Lucky (played by Jeff Biehl).  Estagon and Vladimir pass the time with them, then Pozzo and Lucky leave.  A boy (played by Toussaint Francois Battiste) arrives with a message from Godot.  He will be there tomorrow. 

Michael Shannon & Paul Sparks
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience.

Tomorrow arrives.  Estragon and Vladimir are waiting for Godot.  The tree has one new leaf.  Time is
passing.  Pozzo and Lucky return, but they are blind and dumb.  They do not recall having been there the day before, and neither does the boy when he returns with the same message from Godot.  Estragon and Vladimir debate what to do, then they wait. 

When you first enter the theatre, Michael Shannon is sitting on the stage as Estragon.  The theatre space fills with a strange quiet and heavy anticipation.  The waiting has already begun.  Time feels suspended through a lot of this production, giving the audience a visceral sense of one of Mr. Beckett’s themes in the piece.  There are also numerous biblical references connecting the characters and the waiting to a greater sense of existence. 

Jeff Biehl, Michael Shannon, Ajay Naidu, & Paul Sparks
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Paul Sparks and Michael Shannon are phenomenal together.  They have impeccable timing and a genuine bond that keeps the audience fully engaged.  Mr. Sparks’ Vladimir is highly physical, fidgeting and rapidly moving around the entire playing area, while Mr. Shannon’s Estragon is sedentary, weary, and unsteady on his feet.  

Ajay Naidu is energetic and antagonistic as Pozzo.  Jeff Biehl is discomfiting and mesmerizing as Lucky.  Their presence throws the rhythm and pace of the play into another realm.  All your attention goes to Toussaint Francois Battiste both times he enters as the boy.  Mr. Battiste embodies a different energy from the other characters.  He is the only one who has seen Godot.  He embodies a calm and certainty that the others are lacking. 

Samuel Beckett’s play has elusive and provocative existential and philosophical images and levels.  This production will engage you emotionally and leave you thinking.  Waiting for Godot is playing at Theare for a New Audience’s Polonsky Shakespeare Center through December 3. 

Domenick Danza

Des Moines

 Des Moines
Theatre for a New Audience
Polonsky Shakespeare Center
December 23, 2022 

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Denis Johnson crafted his play Des Moines with mesmerizing dialogue that captures interest and builds intrigue.  His characters are on the edge, dark, and simmering.  The Theatre for a New Audience production is riveting.  Director Arin Arbus uses Mr. Johnsons rhythms and silences to lure the audience and involve them in the action.  Once engaged, there is no release, just a plunging spiral, fueled by unwavering hope.

Michael Shannon, Johanna Day, & Arliss Howard
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Dan (played by Arliss Howard) is home from work at the Car Barn, where he drives a taxi.  He and his wife Marta (played by Johanna Day) share the news of their day.  A woman, Mrs. Drinkwater (played by Heather Alicia Simms) came by Dan’s work to inquire about a ride he gave her husband to the airport.  It was her husband’s final cab ride.  His plane crashed and he was killed.  Mrs. Drinkwater asks Dan about her husband’s last words, then shows him her husband’s wedding ring, which she accidentally leaves with Dan.  Marta tells Dan that Father Michael (played by Michael Shannon) will be stopping by, which reminds Dan that he saw Father Michael outside a gay bar at closing time, wearing woman’s make-up.  When Father Michael arrives, Marta breaks the news to Dan that the Doctor told her she has two to four months to live.  They decide to go out for a drink, leaving Father Michael with Jimmy (played by Hari Nef) who is in a wheelchair due to complications during sex change surgery.  When Mrs. Drinkwater arrives to pick up her husband’s wedding ring, the drinking begins.  When Dan and Marta return, the drinking accelerates.  They all sing Karaoke, baring their souls in a drunken frenzy.  Morning comes.  They all stand tall to face the day ahead.  

Arliss Howard & Hari Nef
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

This cast of actors each create truthful, multi-layered characters, who are all driven by deep need and propelled by boundless energy.  The action builds as these drives connect, uniting them on their journey of facing insurmountable personal challenges.  Each actor has a clear sense of what keeps their characters moving forward.  This is what sustains the audience’s investment in the heightened action.  There is sorrow, but no grieving  There is conflict, but no animosity.  They spiral into darkness, then slowly and steadily rise with hope.

The Theatre for a New Audience production of Des Moines is masterfully conceived and skillfully directed and performed.  Denis Johnson has written a truly unique piece of theatre.  You become one with these character in their bizarre mingling and faithful persistence.  The play is compelling and thought provoking.  This production has been extended through January 8 at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in downtown Brooklyn.  

Domenick Danza

Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Broadhurst Theatre

June 1, 2019

Photo courtesy of Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon are astounding in Terrance McNally’s Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune.  Director Arin Arbus finds the perfect rhythm to build the tension and intimacy between the characters.  Mr. McNally’s play is just as impactful today as it was when it was first produced in 1987.  This is because of its subject matter: the connection between two people in need.  A story like this is timeless and will forever touch the soul of an audience.

Audra McDonald & Michael Shannon
Photo courtesy of Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Frankie (played by Audra McDonald) is on her first date with Johnny (played by Michael Shannon).  He is the short order cook at the diner where she works as a waitress.  They go to a movie, stop for ice cream, then go to her one-room walk up apartment.  That is where the play begins, in Frankie’s apartment, where her and Johnny are is the throws of passion.  He adores her.  The more she showers her with complements, the higher her guard goes up.  As they share details of their lives, they find they have a lot in common.  They are both originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania.  Both their mothers deserted them at a young age.  They both hide the scars they carry.  Gradually, Johnny wears down Frankie’s protective shell.  When the sun comes up in the morning, they have to face the reality of their lives with a different sense of themselves and one another.

Arin Arbus, Michael Shannon, Terrance McNally, & Audra McDonald
Photo courtesy of Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

The timing and chemistry between Ms. McDonald and Mr. Shannon are crisp and fluid.  There is a lot of humor in their continual badgering.  The pay off is the connection they create.  It is honest and genuine.  There are heightened moments of fear, followed by profound moments of calm.  The production is beautifully orchestrated.

Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune is paying at the Broadhurst Theatre.  It is Terrance McNally at his most intimate.  The production is tenderly directed and stunningly performed, proving that amazing things can happened under the "light of the moon."

Domenick Danza

The Winter’s Tale

The Winter’s Tale

Theatre for a New Audience

Polonsky Shakespeare Center

March 17, 2018

Photo courtesy of
Theatre for a New Audience

The Theatre for a New Audience production of The Winter’s Tale brings brilliant clarity to Shakespeare’s unique two part story.  The first half is dark and tragic, fueled by a King’s jealous passion.  The second part transitions into a love story full of redemption and forgiveness.  Director Arin Arbus magnificently weaves Shakespeare’s mixture of genres.  As the play shifts locations before the intermission, so does the tone, texture, and timing.  The cast seamlessly carries the audience through the journey to Shakespeare’s comic and enchanted conclusion.

When Leontes, King of Sicilia (played by Anatol Yusef), suspects his wife Hermione (played by Kelly Curran) of infidelity with his friend Polixenes, King of Bohemia (played by Dion Mucciacito), he lets his jealous nature rule his decision making.  He has Hermione arrested and orders Camillo (played by Michael Rogers) to kill Polixenes.  Camillo sees the error in Leontes’ judgement, vows loyalty to Polixenes, and exiles himself to Bohemia.  While imprisoned, Hermione gives birth to a daughter, who Leontes suspects is not his.  He sends Antigonus (played by Oberon K. A. Adjepong) to abandon the infant in a far off, baron location.  While on trial, Hermione collapses after hearing that her son, Prince Mamillius (played by Eli Rayman) has died of grief.  Shortly after the Oracle of Delphi confirms Hermione’s innocence, Paulina, the Queen’s lady-in-waiting (played by Mahira Kakkar), delivers the tragic news that she has died.     

The Cast of The Winter's Tale
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Antigonus chooses to leave the infant princess in Bohemia with a chest of gold and jewels that belonged to Hermione.  He defends the infant from a bear attack, and is himself devoured.  A shepherd and his son (played by John Keating and Ed Malone) find the child, name her Perdita, and raise her as their own.  Sixteen years pass and Perdita (played by Nicole Rodenburg) falls in love with Polixenes’ son Florizel (played by Eddie Ray Jackson).  He defies his father by vowing to marry her.  Camillo, in an effort to make amends with Leontes, tells Florizel to take his bride to Sicilia and ask Leontes to marry them.  When they arrive in Bohemia, it is discovered that Perdita is heir to the throne of Sicilia.  The love between her and Florizel reunites Leontes with Polixenes.  In the final moment of the story, Paulina unveils a statue of Hermione.  Leontes becomes emotional at the excellence of the likeness.  His remorse and love is so great that the stature is brought to life. 

Director Arin Arbus
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

The cast brings truth to the depth of emotion in the tragic first half of the show, then joy to the lighthearted frolic of the second half.  All the characters develop over the sixteen year time span between these sections.  Ms. Arbus skillfully illustrates Shakespeare’s theme of atonement and forgiveness that comes with the passage of time.  Mahira Kakkar (as Paulina) creates a clear through line of this theme with the persistence and fortitude in her character.  Her transition of age and demeanor are concise.  Her character observes the growth and change of Leontes, waiting to unveil the statue of Hermione until he is truly rehabilitated.  Is it magic, or her and Hermione’s secret plan to stay hidden until the time is right?  See the production and decide for yourself.

The Winter’s Tale is playing at Theatre for a New Audience’s Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Downtown Brooklyn through April 15.

Domenick Danza

The Skin of Our Teeth

The Skin of Our Teeth

Theater for a New Audience

Polonsky Shakespeare Center

March 4, 2017

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

The Theatre for a New Audience production of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth is life affirming.  This American Classic, written seventy-five years ago, is fresh and alive.  Thornton Wilder’s themes and messages are as pertinent to our lives today as they were in 1942, when he won the Pulitzer Prize for writing it.  Arin Arbus’ direction is spot on and clear.  She opens the action of the play in a way that pulls every audience member into the story.  The production rings with vim and vigor due to original music by Cesar Alvarez and choreography by Sonya Tayeh.  The cast of thirty-six unite to create an engaging experience that encourages deep contemplation.

Kecia Lewis, Kimber Monroe, & David Rasche
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Act I opens on Sabina (played by Mary Wiseman), the housekeeper to the Antrobus family, preparing for Mr. Antrobus (played by David Rasche) to return from work.  We meet Mrs. Antrobus (played by Kecia Lewis) and their two children, Gladys (played by Kimber Monroe) and Henry (played by Reynaldo Piniella).  They are the perfect family, except for the alarming secrets they keep hidden and their deep seeded resentment toward one another.  Their existence is threatened by the ice coming from the north, moving everything in its path.  They reluctantly open their home to a large number of refugees in need of shelter and warmth.  It is the ice age, and the world as they know it will soon come to an end. 

Mary Wiseman as Sabina
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Act II find the Antrobus family in Atlantic City among mayhem and merriment.  “Enjoy yourself” is the message of the day, yet a Fortune Teller (played by Mary Lou Rosato) predicts destruction by a great storm.  As the rain begins, the Antrobus family boards a huge boat with two of each animal species in order to start all over again.

Act III is dark.  The great war has ended.  The Antrobus family and Sabina have survived, and Gladys has a baby.  It is time to rebuild, yet Mr. Antrobus is tired and disheartened.  He tells of the three thoughts that got him through the war: the voice of the people, his home and family, and his books.  It takes community effort to restore the safety of their home and, as in Act I and Act II, mankind endures.

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Every member of the cast and ensemble is skillfully precise.  Mary Wiseman is vivacious as Sabina.  Her comic timing is superb.  Her Sabina plays amazingly well when juxtaposed against Kecia Lewis’ Mrs. Antrobus.  Their rivalry is fierce and superseded by their bond of understanding.  David Rasche grounds the action and keeps it moving as Mr. Antrobus.  Reynaldo Piniella creates a multi-dimensional Henry who is plagued by anger and driven by need.  Kimber Monroe’s Gladys grows and matures in the course of the three acts.  Mary Lou Rosato’s Fortune Teller is wild, crazy, and truthful.

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

The hordes of refugees in Act I and rounding up of the animals in Act II harkens to the political challenges we face today.  There is a seductive conversation between Mr. Antrobus and Sabina in Act II about wealth and power that could easily be viewed as a (fictional) discussion between Donald and Melania Trump.  With scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez and costume and puppet design by Cait O’Connor, the production is astounding.  The Skin of Our Teeth is running at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Downtown Brooklyn through March 19.  It is a mammoth play with timeless themes and a stellar cast. 

Domenick Danza

The Father

The Father

Theatre for a New Audience

May 29, 2016

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Theatre for a New Audience is presently running Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Strindberg’s The Father in rep at their downtown Brooklyn theatre.  The intention of this project is to illustrate these two classic playwrights’ opposing points of view over the battle of the sexes.  Under the bold and daring direction of Associate Artistic Director Arin Arbus, these two productions share the same superb cast.  The production of The Father is riveting.  Ms. Arbus strongly dramatizes Strindberg’s account of the manipulative and domineering role a woman can play in a marriage, and the overbearing control she can have over the family patriarch.

John Douglas Thompson
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

The Captain (played by John Douglas Thompson) is fighting with his wife, Laura (played by Maggie Lacey), over what is best for their daughter, Bertha (played by Kimber Monroe).  When Laura, in a desperate attempt to win, puts into question Bertha’s paternity and her husband’s sanity, the outcome is devastating.

John Douglas Thompson delivers a stellar performance in the title role.  His character possesses strengths that make him a leader, and insecurities that make him vulnerable.  He blends these juxtaposed traits in a naturalistic way that allows the character to be identifiable and genuine.  Maggie Lacy is invincible as his wife, Laura.  She is determined and, at times, cruel, yet in the end reveals the honest motivations of her character, which makes her susceptible and empathetic.  Kimba Monroe is extraordinary as their daughter, Bertha.  She is a skilled, young actress with depth and honesty that seizes attention each moment she is on stage.  Other outstanding performances are Laurie Kennedy as Margaret, Nigel Gore as Doctor Ostermark, and Jesse J. Perez as the Pastor.

Maggie Lacey & John Douglas Thompson
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Theatre for a New Audience raises the bar for greatness with every production.  Their standards are high.  Their directors are brilliant.  Their casting is impeccable.  A Doll’s House and The Father run in rep through June 12.  Don’t miss out on this theatrical event. 

I have only seen “The Father,” and welcome comments from anyone who has seen this director’s interpretation of “A Doll’s House.”

Domenick Danza