Samuel Beckett’s Excellent Adventure

My son is a Broadway enthusiast now at the age of thirteen, and I can say with a clear conscience that I had very little to do with it. Still, I’m glad—because now we have a lot in common.

The other day, we stumbled onto the topic of what’s coming up this summer, which is actually a rare occurrence. A few shows are closing after poor showings at the Tonys—none of them surprises: Smash, Dead Outlaw, Real Women Have Curves. And at the Hudson, The Last Five Years, which was already scheduled to close and got overlooked at the Tonys, is also ending its run. I did know what was going into that theater next, and I said, “Waiting for Godot is opening in September.”

“What’s that about?” he asked.

“Well, nobody really knows,” I said. “It’s a play—not a musical. It’s avant-garde.”

“What’s that?”

“This Irish guy who lived in France, named Samuel Beckett, liked to write things that were absurd. You kind of have to figure out what it’s about for yourself.”

“What does he say it’s about?”

“He got tired of people asking. Some say ‘Godot’ means the God of the Old Testament—like they’re waiting for God. But he originally wrote it in French, so that kind of doesn’t track. Anyway, in some productions, the characters sit in trash cans, nothing really happens, they talk about nonsense, and then two other people show up and say Godot might come tomorrow.”

“Who are they?”

“I don’t know. One’s on a leash and doesn’t talk.”

“This sounds awesome,” he said.

“It’s considered a huge challenge for actors because it’s really complex,” I explained. “Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart used to do it a lot.”

“Who?” he asked.

“Gandalf and Picard.”

“Who’s going to be in it this time?”

“Well,” I said, “that’s a funny question. Remember The Matrix? That guy was also in a movie called Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Ever heard of it?”

“No,” he said. “Is that one of your old-people movies?”

“Yes, it is,” I agreed. “In it, two really dumb high school friends have to write a history paper. But instead of just doing that, they end up in a time-traveling phone booth, go back in time, and bring historical figures to the present for their presentation.”

“So the two guys from the dumb-sounding old movie are going to be in this weird-sounding play?”

“Yep.”

“Maybe they should go back in time and ask the playwright what the play is about,” he mused.

“That would be most excellent, dude,” I said.

“I’m done talking to you,” my son said.