The Brecksville Theatre Offers a Comedic Change-up with Waiting for Godot August 11, 2018…Once upon a time—July 1, 2017, to be exact—two theaters, each with a long history of producing crowd-pleasing plays for the town of Brecksville, merged into one organization. The powers that be at the newly formed Brecksville Theatre decided to offer an expanded bill of fare to their audiences. Entertainment still has its place at the top of their goals, but the organization folds into their season a range of plays that might enrich their community with scripts that encourage the audience to think and feel in broader terms. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett certainly does that. Directed by Art Suskin and produced by Michele Bender, this rendition of the play first performed in 1953 features not only Beckett’s fabulous words but large doses of comedy from beginning to end. Suskin says that “The story is simple, really. Two guys, Didi and Gogo, wait for a promised meeting with a mysterious and elusive Godot. Godot makes appointment after appointment, but never seems to appear to tell them whatever it is they feel they need to know before going on. The question for them is how to spend the time while…waiting for Godot.” Art Suskin comes to Brecksville with more than 50 years of experience staging hundreds of plays in Kansas City, New York, Miami, and now in Northeast Ohio. “Being a professional director hasn’t made me rich and famous, but it has made me happy. I suppose you’d say I have a purpose,” says Suskin. Tyler Barhorst (Didi), David C. Dolansky (Gogo), Bob Kenderes (Pozzo), Daniel McKinnon (Lucky), and Mitch Randjelovic (The Boy) comprise the cast for the play. Suskin’s direction has infused this production with wall-to-wall physical comedy. When asked what audiences have in store for them, Suskin says, “Laughter. Lots of it. Didi and Gogo are essentially vaudeville clowns in the tradition of the Marx Brothers and Chaplin and Jim Carey and Robin Williams. We have worked with Fight Director John Evenden to create some outrageous stuff—slapstick, falls, and general silliness that helps the guys pass the time until Godot shows up. Hopefully the audience will howl with laughter while Beckett’s more sober points hit home all the more forcefully.” Under Suskin’s direction, stage manager Emily Kovalcik, scenic designer Emily Dotson, light and sound designer Austin Hopson, property designer Evelyn Stevens, and costume designer Maddie Brown have come together to support and enhance Waiting for Godot with creations for the eye and ear. “I treat every production as though this is the first time it’s being performed,” Suskin says. “During the weeks of rehearsal, everyone has collaborated to make a play that will surprise and delight audiences who know the play, who don’t know the play, and who think they know the play. I am hoping for that shock of recognition in the audience that manifests as smiles, laughter, and barks of laughter. And maybe the odd thoughtful moment.” The Brecksville Theatre’s production of Waiting for Godot opens at The Brecksville Theatre, 49 Public Square, in Brecksville, Ohio on August 24. It will play through September 9 with performances at 7:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00pm on Sundays. Tickets can be purchased on line at https://www.thebrecksvilletheatre.org/ or by phone at 440-736-7749. ************************************* For further information, contact: The Director, Art Suskin art@theatregym.org mailto:art@theatregym.org or 816-210-6266 and/or The Producer and Managing Director, Michele Bender, managing@thebrecksvilletheatre.org mailto:managing@thebrecksvilletheatre.org or 440-736-7778 ************************************* The cast and staff are available for interviews and video coverage upon request.