Review Fix Exclusive: Inside ‘Waiting for Godot’

Review Fix chats with ‘Waiting for Godot’ Artistic Director David Mandelbaum, who discusses the production and who will enjoy it the most.

About the Production:

New Yiddish Rep, in association with The Theater at the 14th Street Y, is pleased to present a fresh new production of Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece Waiting for Godot (Vartn Af Godot), translated byShane Baker, anddirected by The 14th Street Y’s artistic director of Arts & Culture, Ronit Muszkatblit. Waiting for Godot will perform in Yiddish with English super-titles for a five-week limited engagement from Sunday, December 24th, 2018 through Sunday, January 27th, 2019 at The Theater at the 14th Street Y (344 East 14th Street at 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10003). Official opening is Sunday, January 6th at 2:00 P.M..

Review Fix: What inspired this production?

David Mandelbaum: The need to combat fear of the other. It is one of the great 20th century plays. It speaks about the universal quest for meaning .  It’s a piece that works particularly well translated into Yiddish. 

Review Fix: Why does this production matter?

Mandelbaum: We are all the other. It resonates on so many levels, such as man’s inhumanity to man , and the need for connection to know that we exist.

Review Fix: How is it different from the French production?

Mandelbaum: It’s in Yiddish.

Review Fix: What does this production mean to you?

Mandelbaum: A chance to produce and act in a work of genius.

Review Fix: Who will enjoy this production the most?

Mandelbaum: “Those who think see the comedy in life, those who feel see the tragedy.” -H. Walpole. 

People are interested in the exploration of the human experience, the Yiddish language, and humor.

Review Fix: Bottom line, how do you want it to be remembered?

Mandelbaum: As a moving, funny and excellent production.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Mandelbaum: We have a children’s puppet show in the works, as well as the return of our cabaret, and reading series. To learn more about New Yiddish Rep visit newyiddishrep.org

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14321 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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