Urqhart praises the “wonderful — and appropriately warm — performances” of Ouimette and Rooney and notes Dennehy provides “a menacing physicality to his Pozzo, punctuating his character’s seeming cruelty with a mocking smile.” He states Hughson “shines during Lucky’s monologue” and his overall performance.

Nestruck states “Przybylski’s set is pure genius”. He calls the design “the most noticeably original part of the production – with a white celestial body that spins above the stage and a shiny metallic tree.”

Reid calls “Waiting for Godot” a “superb production in every way, with Dennehy anchoring a brilliant cast as the tyrannical buffoon Pozzo.” He found Hughson’s performance “the most stunningly original portrait of the quartet of existential pilgrims on the road to who knows where.”

Ouzounian loved the show “It’s funny and heartbreaking and thought-provoking: everything that Waiting for Godot ought to be….[Jennifer Tarver] has been blessed with four superb actors and understands just how much freedom she must give them, but still grasps the necessity of shaping both the staging and their performances with a steady hand.

“Tarver’s production doesn’t let a connection go by, and makes most of them casually fresh. This goes for the physical content as well as the verbal; the juggling of three hats between two men rises to superb heights of puzzlement. The same goes for the rubbery facility with which they fall down and get up.”

Dale states the performers gave “some of the finest acting to grace the Festival stage in years.” He calls the set design “ideal for keeping the cast in clear view at all time, limiting them to the kind of space, both literal and figurative, that symbolizes the constraints of their existence.”

“When one thinks of the sheer number of choices one makes every day… it is a wonder any of us get out of bed at all. And when faced with choices that will irrevocably change something…the consequences of choosing can be debilitating. Immobilizing. In a nutshell, this is one of the points of the play.”

Greason compares “Waiting For Godot” to being a personal support worker because of the use of repetition. He states the play “speaks to our base fears and needs; that nagging discontent with the present; of being in a constant state of transition, either waiting for the future or dwelling in the past.”

Slotkin found the set design team of “Waiting For Godot” created “a tight, confined world” envisioned by director Tarver. She notes the “filthy and worn” clothes and states the characters “are confined to this claustrophobic road that goes the length of the stage, but is so narrow there are few places they can wander.”

“In the Director’s notes, we are warned that perhaps with this play, Beckett is laughing at humanity’s tendency to try to find meaning in everything…Indeed this play is an intellectual puzzle and is much fun to analyze…This said, it is equally important to for a moment forget about how this play makes you think, and instead reflect on how it makes you feel.”

Fischer finds common themes in the various productions he saw, including “Tommy”, “Fiddler on the Roof”, “Waiting For Godot” and a preview of “Taking Shakespeare”. He notes “Cimolino has succeeded, spectacularly — allowing plays written and set centuries apart to speak to each other and to us in new ways.”

Garner states “Othello” is “extremely well-played”, “Taking Shakespeare” “fabulous” and compares “Waiting for Godot” to “a great modern painting by Picasso or Pollock”. He thought “Fiddler on the Roof” was “easily the best” he’s seen and “The Merchant of Venice” was “very good”.