Waiting for Godot on Broadway Tickets

Waiting for Godot in New York

Get ready for a truly excellent night at the theatre, as Bill and Ted stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter reunite in Waiting for Godot at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre. Acclaimed director Jamie Lloyd directs Reeves and Winter in Samuel Beckett's hilarious absurdist play about two men who perpetually wait for the mysterious Godot in a desolate, seemingly timeless landscape. This revival of Samuel Beckett's masterwork has a strictly limited run, so set a reminder for tickets today - it’d be bogus to miss it!

What is the play Waiting for Godot on Broadway about?

“Let's go." "We can't." "Why not?" "We're waiting for Godot.”

In a featureless landscape, distinguishable only by a singular tree, two men wait. They are Vladimir and Estragon - otherwise known as Didi and Gogo - and they are waiting for Godot. Who is Godot? The men themselves are unsure, unable to remember if they have ever met him before and uncertain whether Godot will actually show up. As time passes , the men swap bowler hats, discuss philosophy, contemplate death, and meet another unusual pair: Pozzo, a traveller, and Lucky, Pozzo’s mute slave whom he keeps on a rope - who come and go. Should Didi and Gogo themselves leave? Or should they remain, waiting for Godot?

The History of Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot was written in 1953, and is a translation by Beckett of his own 1949 play, En attendant Godot, from the original French. The English language production of the play debuted at the Arts Theatre in London in 1955. It embarked on a US tour the same year, and opened on Broadway in 1956. Heavily censored upon its London premier, the play received its first uncensored production in the UK at the Royal Court Theatre in 1964. The show has since toured in many different countries, including Canada, Brazil, South Africa and Australia, and has received many revivals and restagings, including a radio adaptation for the BBC and a filmed version for PBS.

Reeves and Winter are in good company, as the roles of Vladimir and Estragon have been tackled by many iconic duos over the years. Actors who have donned Didi and Gogo's bowler hats include Geoffrey Rush and Mel Gibson in a 1979 production in Sydney, Australia; Steve Martin and Robin Williams in a 1988 production at the Lincoln Centre; and Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart in a 2009 production in London, which transferred to Broadway in 2013.

Waiting for Godot was highly controversial upon its premier in the 1950s, winning the award of “Most Controversial Play of the Year” at the 1955 Evening Standard Theatre Awards - a prize that has never been given since - but was later voted as "the most significant English-language play of the 20th century" in a ’98/’99 poll by London’s Royal National Theatre. The meaning of the play has been hotly debated for decades, with wide-ranging interpretations of its philosophical, psychological and political themes.

Dubbed by some as a play in which “nothing happens”, Waiting for Godot is considered by many to be Beckett’s masterwork. At turns existential, unsettling and outrageously funny, you won’t want to miss this most excellent duo as they take on this controversial, absurdist classic.

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter: The Cast of Waiting for Godot

Keanu Reeves plays Estragon, opposite Alex Winter as Vladimir. The pair first worked together 35 years ago in 1989 sci-fi comedy Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and have remained firm friends since, reuniting for two Bill and Ted sequels in 1991 and 2020.

Perhaps best known for his roles as Neo in The Matrix and as the titular character in the action movie series John Wick, Reeves is a Canadian actor, musician, director, author and philanthropist. A Saturn and MTV Movie & TV Award winner, Reeve’s other roles include My Own Private Idaho, Much Ado About Nothing, Dracula, Point Break, Speed and Cyberpunk 77. In 2005, Reeves was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2022 Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Waiting for Godot marks his debut on Broadway.

Alex Winter is an American actor, director, filmmaker and activist. Best known for his acting roles in The Lost Boys and Freaked, Winter is also an acclaimed documentary filmmaker, and has previously worked on documentaries including Showbiz Kids, The YouTube Effect, Zappa and Deep Web: The Untold Story of Bitcoin and the Silk Road. Winter has previously performed on Broadway, with credits including The King and I, Peter Pan, and Close of Play.

Further casting is to be announced.

Who are the creative team of Waiting for Godot?

Jamie Lloyd directs. Lloyd is an acclaimed British director known for his minimalist, expressionist, boundary-pushing style. Lloyd has become the go-to director for breathing new life into the classics, with much of his work featuring a starry cast of Hollywood royalty.

Lloyd’s previous productions include Much Ado About Nothing with Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell, A Doll’s House starring Jessica Chastain, Romeo and Juliet with Tom Holland, The Tempest starring Sigourney Weaver, Sunset Boulevard starring Nicole Scherzinger plus an upcoming revival of his award-winning production of West Side Story in London, starring Rachel Zegler. Lloyd is a two-time Tony Award nominee and seven-time Olivier Award winner.

Waiting for Godot is written by Irish playwright, poet, novelist and writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989). Beckett wrote in both English and French, and his works are often existentialist, absurdist and darkly comic. Considered to be one of the most influential modernist writers of the 20th century, Beckett’s work has had an enormous effect in challenging the conventions of realist theatre. 1983, the Samuel Beckett Award was founded, which rewards innovation in theatrical writing, and the award continues to this day.

Beckett is a four-time Obie winner and holds an International Publishers' Formentor Prize (awarded alongside novelist Jorge Luis Borges) and a Nobel Prize in Literature. His best known works are his plays Waiting for Godot, Endgame, Krapps Last Tape and Not I, as well as his novel Molloy.

Book Tickets for Waiting for Godot at the Hudson Theatre

Don’t miss this most excellent reunion for Bill and Ted, as Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter team up with Jamie Lloyd to tackle this weird and wonderful existential classic. You won't want to wait too long, as this revival of Beckett’s masterpiece has a strictly limited run and promises to be the theatrical event of the season. So set an alert today to secure your tickets for Waiting for Godot at the Hudson Theatre, and party on, dude!