Get Your Beckett On

By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on May 24, 2010 3:40PM

We've already raved about Steppenwolf's current production of Endgame, Samuel Beckett's post-apocalyptic puzzler which runs through June 6. Now we get a rare chance to see a revival of one of the best Beckett homages of all time.

Neo-Futurist Greg Allen's gift for wringing every drop of hilarity from non sequiturs clearly owes a great deal to Beckett. Allen paid direct tribute to the Irish genius in 1999, collaborating with Theater Oobleck's Danny Thompson and Ben Schneider on a show with the beautifully unwieldy title The Complete Lost Works Of Samuel Beckett As Found In An Envelope (partially burned) In A Dustbin In Paris Labeled "Never to be performed. Never. Ever. EVER! Or I'll Sue! I'LL SUE FROM THE GRAVE!!!"

A surprising hit that demonstrates the accessibility of absurd humor, it's had eleven international runs including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, London's Riverside Theater, a three-month UK tour, a production touring Europe in German, and three sold-out runs in New York City. In anticipation of a new tour, it's being filmed this Saturday, May 29 at 5pm at Steppenwolf's Garage Theater. Tickets are $15, with the caveat "More if you've got it! FREE if you're broke!" No reservations will be accepted, so just show up, pay what you want, and you're in. We can't think of a cooler show to go see this holiday weekend ... except for maybe CRISIS: A Musical Game Show, the other current Neo-Futurist offering.