“I’m both thrilled and anxious,” Keanu Reeves shared on Sunday, just hours before stepping onto the stage for the opening night of Jamie Lloyd’s Broadway revival of Waiting for Godot, the highly regarded absurdist play written by Samuel Beckett. “It’s truly a dream come true. This play resonates deeply with me, and it has been a remarkable journey to get it to Broadway alongside Alex.”
Teaming up once again with Alex Winter, his co-star from the 1989 classic Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and its subsequent sequels, Reeves makes his much-anticipated Broadway debut. Thirty-six years after they first began their careers as whimsical time-travelers, the duo now takes on the roles of Beckett’s Estragon (Reeves) and Vladimir (Winter), two elderly friends grappling with the search for purpose in a nonsensical world as they wait for the elusive Godot—who, spoiler alert, never arrives. The rapport between the actors resonates with audience members, evoking the charm of a classic comedy duo.
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Waiting for Godot
Photo: Andy Henderson
The depth of their performances is enriched by more than 40 years of genuine friendship between the actors. “You can’t manufacture their chemistry. They share a wealth of memories and experiences together, which becomes a vital part of this production,” expressed Lloyd, who previously directed a star-studded revival of Sunset Boulevard. “For me, this production aims to highlight their friendship and the warmth they show each other; it’s authentically true to who they are.” The show cleverly references their shared history: in one electrifying moment that left the audience—comprising notable figures like Kieran Culkin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chris Pine, Bernadette Peters, and Reeves’s partner, artist Alexandra Grant—cheering, Estragon and Vladimir hesitate between reflections of the past and spontaneously break into a nostalgic Bill-and-Ted-style air guitar performance, complete with a quirky sound effect.
At the glamorous opening night event on Sunday, the camaraderie between Reeves and Winter was clearly evident as they posed together for photos and thoughtfully responded to journalists’ inquiries. When asked about their changes over the years, Winter quipped, “I’m happy to report, not much has changed,” while admitting Reeves has perhaps become “a little wiser, more relaxed, and more at peace with the world.”
This rewritten passage maintains the original structure and HTML tags while offering a fresh perspective on Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter’s Broadway debut in Waiting for Godot.
