210. Kapp & Peterson in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot

(on the point of tears) “I’ve lost my Kapp & Peterson!” —Pozzo, Act I, Waiting for Godot First Question: Which of the following pipe makers have appeared by name in any great work of Western literature? a. Barling b. Castello c. Charatan d. Comoy’s e. Dunhill f. Kapp & Peterson g. Kaywoodie h. . Sasieni Answer: Not to be prideful, smug or look down my nose at the smokers of any of the other fine pipe-makers listed above, but the truth is that only Kapp & Peterson has ever appeared in a great work of Western literature. In two, actually, but tonight I just want to look at one: Samuel Beckett’s two-act tragicomedy Waiting for Godot.   Second Question: What have Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Zero Mostel and Burgess Meredith have in common? Answer: They’ve all acted in Waiting for Godot, arguably the most important play of the twentieth century. If some of their names lead you believe it’s supposed to be funny, that’s because it often is. “Passing the Hats Routine”: An Homage to Laurel & Hardy by Beckett  Third Question: Which famous writers (or their creations) have appeared in special Kapp & Peterson pipes or collections? a. Charles Darwin b. Arthur Conan Doyle c. James Joyce d. Robert Louis Stevenson e. George Bernard Shaw f. Bram Stoker g. Oscar Wilde h. William Butler Yeats   Answer: All of the above. Which makes one wonder when there’s going to be a BECKETT Peterson pipe? Or, since we sometimes dream big around this time of year, maybe a four pipe set with one for each of the main characters: Didi (Vladimir), Gogo (Estragon), Pozzo and Lucky. Beckett on winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1966. He was rarely seen without a cigar or cigarette.   Fourth Question: What happens in the play? a. Nothing b. Nothing, twice c. Everything   Answer: All of the above.   Fifth Question: What’s the best movie or to watch during the four weeks leading up to Christmas? a. A Christmas Story b. Home Alone c. Christmas Holiday d. A Christmas Carol (any version) e. White Christmas f. It’s A Wonderful Life g. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)   Answer: None of the above, because technically (at least from a Christian religious standpoint) the four weeks leading up to December 25th are the season of Advent, which is . . . you guessed it, about waiting, and none of those (while very good) can lay a candle to Beckett’s play.   Sixth Question: What’s the best version of Waiting for Godot? Answer: Any performance you can attend. The problem is that most of us won’t find a live production. There are, however, two video versions, available on both YouTube and on DVD: an early B&W one from 1961 starring Burgess Meredith and Zero Mostel, and the slightly-blurry release from Gate Theatre Dublin with an all-Irish cast that performed it for over twenty years. I’ve seen both and highly recommend the…

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