Nothing Going On

Samuel Beckett's absurdist masterpiece Waiting for Godot is inexplicable. Two bums named Vladimir and Estragon fritter away their copious free time in arguments, fights, suicide attempts and passive silence while they wait for the arrival of Godot, who they believe will give their lives meaning. It's baffling and maddening to explain (and read), and yet when you see it performed, there's a power and a sense of ritual to these bozos' actions. And every word they say begins to spark other meanings in your mind, drawing you deeper into their idiotic conversations, until you feel like you're about to decipher whatever code Beckett has built into the nonsense and the silence. So, baffling and maddening becomes beguiling and meaningful. St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Waiting for Godot at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday (April 19 through May 5) at the Gaslight Theater (358 North Boyle Avenue; 314-458-2978 or www.stlas.org). Tickets are $25 to $30.
Thursdays-Sundays. Starts: April 19. Continues through May 5, 2013