ENDGAME

Samuel Beckett was notoriously opposed to productions of his plays that took liberties of any kind with his scripts. When JoAnne Akalaitis set a production of Endgame in an abandoned subway station and commissioned a brief overture from Philip Glass, Beckett objected that his play had been “musicalized.’’ He also objected to the casting of two black actors as Hamm and Nagg.

American director Alan Schneider, who staged a number of celebrated productions of Beckett plays, famously tattled on directors who made alterations. Eventually, even Schneider would concede that it is impossible to control the artistic contributions of directors and especially of actors entirely, short of forbidding productions of the plays.

Still, I tend to think that Beckett might have liked the current Torn Space theater production of Endgame at the Adam Mickiewicz Theatre on Fillmore Avenue. Directed by Vincent O’Neill with a first-rate cast, the performance respects every pause and every stage direction.

Endgame depicts four characters confined to a kind of post-nuclear bomb shelter with a window to the land and window to the sea. Clov is a servant to Hamm, who is confined to a wheelchair. Hamm’s father, Nagg, and his mother, Nell, are confined to garbage cans. All of the characters know that they are doomed, and yet they act our rituals of control and retribution, hope and despair. Hamm orders Clov about, forcing him to push his chair around the room, to report on what he sees outside and to fetch him items of comfort.

In this production, Carl Kowalkowski plays Hamm. David Oliver plays Clov. John Joy is Nagg, and Katie White is Nell.

The members of the cast have a lively rapport and bring a great deal of vitality and humor to the performance.

John Joy brings a particularly appealing physicality to his performance; his elastic facial expressions and sighs of exasperation, coupled with his marvelous comic timing, make him very memorable as Nagg.

Katie White gives an affecting performance as Nell. Of the four actors, she is the least appropriately cast—though it might be difficult to find an actress of appropriate frailty and antiquity with enough stamina to climb in and out of a garbage can all evening. Still, Ms. White compensates with her gifts as an actor and gives a very successful performance.

A character actor of impressive range and power, Carl Kowalkowski is well-known for his insouciant sense of comedy. As Hamm, he melds a gnome-like appearance to a troll-like menace as he barks orders at Clov and abuse at his father.

As Clov, David Oliver is precise and winningly beleaguered. It is a strong performance and provides the play its center.

O’Neill’s direction builds momentum and guides the play toward its provocative conclusion, and in spite of itself, reluctantly manages to allow a bit of poignancy.

Very little happens over the course of the play’s one act. The world just winds down.

The set has been designed by Michael Lodick and Cassie M. Cruber with costumes by Melissa Meola. The production is satisfying in every detail.

SHEA’S SEASON

Shea’s Performing Arts Center has announced its 2007-2008 season. The shows are:

CAMELOT, November 6-11, 2007

British stage and screen star Michael York will play King Arthur and Broadway Diva Rachel York will play Guenevere in the classic Lerner and Loewe musical.

WHITE CHRISTMAS, December 18-23, 2007

Based on the 1954 Bing Crosby film the show tells the tale of two army pals in pursuit of two singing sisters. Romance leads them to a Vermont inn for the holidays, where they decide to put on a show. The songs include “Happy Holidays,” “Sisters” and “White Christmas.”

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, January 15-20, 2008

Six kids and a couple of audience volunteers compete to be spelling bee champs in this show that teaches us that winning is not all, and that even losers can be winners. The show is wryly clever and very funny.

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, March 4-9, 2008

A musical theater fan fantasizes about a lost show from 1928 called The Drowsy Chaperone, and while listening to the album, his descriptions make the show come alive for us. The show within the show is about a celebrity bride and the chaos that surrounds her approaching nuptials.

AVENUE Q, April 29-May 4, 2008

They look like the Muppets, but the comedy is purely adult in this smash hit of 2004—the show they said would never tour! It’s all about trying to make it in New York City with no money and a new college degree. Be prepared for full-puppet nudity and songs about things like racism and porn. It’s hilarious. It’s not for children.

WICKED, June 18-July 13, 2008

Being plugged as the centerpiece of the season, Wicked tells the tale of what happened in Oz before Dorothy arrived and the Witches of the West and North were school roommates. This hugely popular show is still running strong on Broadway and is sure to be a smash for Shea’s—even in the summer.