A NEW ROAD TO GODOT

Anne Kelly-Saxenmeyer
Special to the Mirror

   When attending a play with a very young cast, one assumes a forgiving attitude, ready to ignore blunders and applaud small feats. It's a natural, if condescending approach, and I was delighted to be disabused of it at the New Roads School's production of Beckett's "Waiting For Godot" (Act One). The work of five young players and Director Rick Cluchey, this piece never ceases to surprise. 
   First, take it as a given that the actors know Beckett's evocative text backwards and forwards, that they're comfortable on stage, very well-rehearsed and yet, responsive to each other, spontaneous. One also gets used to their great comic timing, their knowing winks to the audience. It's their startling wisdom that brings this production to the next level. 
   After all, those emotional territories which we would claim for our (grown-up) selves -- futility, loss (have we forgotten what adolescence was like?) --make "Godot" an oddly appropriate vehicle for teenagers. 
   Take Grady DiPietro's contemplative Vladimir, and Thomas Martinez's witty, nostalgic Estragon. This duo is as believable on an absurdist landscape as they would be on a school playground, tied together by a fear of the alternative, obsessed with the passing of time. 
   Casting continues to be age appropriate for the roles of Pozzo and Boy. Christopher Kaufman, a twelfth grader and the eldest cast member, plays the domineering Pozzo, who demands attention and feigns assurance. When Kaufman's character drops the act, his trepidation is poignant. 
   At the other end of the age spectrum, five-year-old Jameson Cluchey is a cherubic Boy, his softly uttered tidings from Godot casting new uncertainty on the promised appointment.
   And, whether "dancing," "thinking," or just holding his bags, Michael Feldman is an ideal Lucky. By the end of his famous soliloquy, one wants to scream, laugh, weep, or all three. 
   Director Rick Cluchey has clearly imparted some wisdom to this insightful cast. But none of it -- not his long acquaintance with "Godot" as actor and director, nor his experience with Mr. Beckett himself -- would have brought such results if he didn't recognize and foster his cast's penchant for the material. This takes a rare person. But Cluchey is reluctant to take credit. 
   After Sunday's performance (sadly, the last one for now), the director came forward after much prodding -- "We're not leaving until you come up here," warned Pozzo. An adoring cast presented Cluchey with an honorary bowler hat, rendering him (as the rest of us) all but speechless. 
   In his words -- looking forward to Act Two!