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Loved it--I know I've seen it at least once in the mid-70s, danced by a friend's troupe, but cannot remember if I've seen it as a play.
All four actors were wonderful: Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin (see him in Rachel Getting Married), John Goodman, and John Glover. A comedy--has it always been acted as comedy? I don't know. What surprised me was the pronunciation of "Godot" with the accent on the first syllable rather than the second, which I'd never hear before.
Just now I looked this up and found this explanation by director Anthony Page:
Erik Piepenburg: The actors in this revival of “Waiting for Godot” pronounce the title character’s name as GOD-dough, with the accent on the first syllable. In this country, at least, I’ve heard it pronounced Go-DOUGH, with the accent on the second syllable.
Anthony Page: Well GOD-dough is what Samuel Beckett said. Also, the word has to echo Pozzo. That’s the right pronunciation. Go-DOUGH is an Americanism, which isn’t what the play intended.
and back in 2004 there's this:
Media and performing arts professor Karla Knudsen wants to get one thing straight: “Waiting for Godot” is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable of “Godot” (as in GOD-oh) as opposed to the typical emphasis on the second syllable (as in go-DOH).
Knudsen, who is directing the Savannah College of Art and Design’s upcoming production, said this is correct according to various sources, including playwright Samuel Beckett himself. She pointed to interviews with Beckett, who died in 1989, where he accused Americans of pronouncing it wrong.
“Somebody in America pronounced it wrong and it just took off,” she said. The correct pronunciation was confirmed when the SCAD cast met Walter Asmus, Beckett’s right-hand man, at 7 Stages in Atlanta when that theater company performed the play March 4 - April 4. Asmus first met Beckett in 1974 when he assisted the playwright on his directorial debut of the play at the Schiller Theatre in Berlin."
Ok. I guess I give in. But it's going to be really difficult for me to rewire my brain into the correct pronunciation, dammit.
All four actors were wonderful: Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin (see him in Rachel Getting Married), John Goodman, and John Glover. A comedy--has it always been acted as comedy? I don't know. What surprised me was the pronunciation of "Godot" with the accent on the first syllable rather than the second, which I'd never hear before.
Just now I looked this up and found this explanation by director Anthony Page:
Erik Piepenburg: The actors in this revival of “Waiting for Godot” pronounce the title character’s name as GOD-dough, with the accent on the first syllable. In this country, at least, I’ve heard it pronounced Go-DOUGH, with the accent on the second syllable.
Anthony Page: Well GOD-dough is what Samuel Beckett said. Also, the word has to echo Pozzo. That’s the right pronunciation. Go-DOUGH is an Americanism, which isn’t what the play intended.
and back in 2004 there's this:
Media and performing arts professor Karla Knudsen wants to get one thing straight: “Waiting for Godot” is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable of “Godot” (as in GOD-oh) as opposed to the typical emphasis on the second syllable (as in go-DOH).
Knudsen, who is directing the Savannah College of Art and Design’s upcoming production, said this is correct according to various sources, including playwright Samuel Beckett himself. She pointed to interviews with Beckett, who died in 1989, where he accused Americans of pronouncing it wrong.
“Somebody in America pronounced it wrong and it just took off,” she said. The correct pronunciation was confirmed when the SCAD cast met Walter Asmus, Beckett’s right-hand man, at 7 Stages in Atlanta when that theater company performed the play March 4 - April 4. Asmus first met Beckett in 1974 when he assisted the playwright on his directorial debut of the play at the Schiller Theatre in Berlin."
Ok. I guess I give in. But it's going to be really difficult for me to rewire my brain into the correct pronunciation, dammit.
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