About the Show

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter star in Jamie Lloyd’s Broadway revival of Beckett’s absurdist classic.

Two men meet by a tree and wait. As the hours drag on, they talk, bicker, philosophize, joke, and wait some more—for someone named Godot, who may or may not arrive. Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, originally subtitled a “tragicomedy,” follows the endlessly circular conversations of Vladimir and Estragon as they wrestle with the absurdity of time, memory, and purpose. The play, both spare and layered, is a landmark of 20th-century theatre and a cornerstone of existential drama.

This new Broadway production features Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, John Wick) and Alex Winter (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, The Lost Boys) in the central roles. Lifelong friends offstage, the two reunite onstage to portray Beckett’s infamous pair of wanderers. The production is helmed by Jamie Lloyd, whose previous directorial work on Sunset Boulevard, A Doll’s House, and Betrayal has earned both Olivier Awards and Tony nominations. Lloyd brings his signature minimalist style and psychological precision to Beckett’s dense and elusive text.

A defining work of absurdist theatre, Waiting for Godot is notable for its deliberate inaction and cyclical structure. Originally premiered in 1953, it continues to provoke debate and reinterpretation. This staging marks a rare major revival of the play on Broadway, with a high-profile creative team bringing new attention to Beckett’s enduring questions about time, existence, and companionship.

Critic Reviews (18)

"Whereupon Reeves and Winter indulge in a burst of air guitar, Bill and Ted-style. The riff is a surefire crowd-pleaser, and maybe equally sure to rankle the purists. Already, I have heard some of them grumble rather fiercely."
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"While the stars bring marquee magnetism, the production design lends mystery."
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"Winter and Reeves’s teamwork is at its best when at its goofiest, and Waiting for Godot, despite its rather bleak reputation, is loaded with dumb humor. "
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“For long stretches of the play’s first act, Winter and Reeves stay seated, perched at the tunnel’s opening, gazing out over the audience. Only after intermission… do they really begin to explore its physical possibilities.”
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"I was impressed by the production’s physical grandeur and entranced by the players’ surprising warmth, but I didn’t find myself deeply moved by this “Godot” until, bizarrely, I saw another show altogether. "
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"With scraggly hair and beard and a dazed countenance of man waking up from an unspeakable dream, Reeves brings the tender vulnerability to his Estragon."
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“The awkward but lovely moments in which Reeves and Winter’s decades-long friendship is evoked — an urgent embrace, a coat draped over a sleeping body, a gentle caress, clasped hands — are among the most touching representations here”
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"There’s an allure in “Waiting for Godot” to all that we can’t see onstage. That includes, in this case, both the real and on-screen connection between its stars. But even a bromance for the ages has its limits."
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