Rick Cluchey

This is the best performance I have every seen live. It was during my first year at Chicago. He was a guest at the old Goodman by the lake, the one that was housed in the same architectual structure as the Art Institute.

I was overwhelmed by all the humor he had found in the text. The emotional landscape was vast in it's facets. Not something you often find in Beckett intrepretation. Most the time it's just clowning jesters or stoic psuedo-suicidial golems.

Of course when you think about Cluchey doing any Beckett text how could it not be overflowing with relevance and meaning and emotion. This man was released from prison due to Beckett. The man was given a second chance becuase of the relationship he formed with Beckett's words.

I would pay a pretty penny o see this work again. i only hope that those with the knowledge and influence in Chicago Theatre scene see it fit to bring back this artist and others like him.

Gonzo