'Waiting for Godot' Broadway review — Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are entertainingly locked in limbo
Read our review of Waiting for Godot on Broadway, a revival of Samuel Beckett's classic tragicomedy reuniting Bill & Ted's Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.
Anyone going to see Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Waiting for Godot who’s hoping for a glimpse of their Bill & Ted film personas are in luck. There’s a fleeting in-joke just for them. Wait for it.
Thank director Jamie Lloyd (Sunset Boulevard, A Doll’s House) for a sight gag Samuel Beckett never imagined when he wrote his absurdist tragicomedy about time, existence, and human suffering. Able star turns by Reeves as forgetful Estragon (aka Gogo) and Winter as his reflective friend Vladimir (aka Didi) ground this entertaining revival with the credible chemistry of longtime friends — hence their nicknames for each other.
While the stars bring marquee magnetism, the production design lends mystery. The script’s stage directions call for “A country road. A tree. Evening.” Soutra Gilmour’s set features only a huge wood-paneled tube. Is it a hollow redwood? Arty tunnel to nowhere? Crafty storm drain? Who knows. But the circular shape squares with the play’s cyclical nature. Didi and Gogo gab and grouse. They wait for no-show Godot. Repeat.
Broadway rookie Reeves (The Matrix, John Wick) shelves his surfer-dude charm to evoke melancholy as a man motoring on anxiety. He gamely throws himself around the set like a rag doll. Winter, who acted on Broadway as a kid in Peter Pan and The King and I, brings an impressive gravity as the deep-thinking Didi, who’s prone to contemplative dives.
Brandon J. Dirden and Michael Patrick Thornton lend terrific support, respectively popping in as domineering grandstander Pozzo and his subservient companion Lucky, whose power dynamics eventually shift.
At one point during the friends' not-so-excellent adventure, Gogo asks: “What do we do now, now that we are happy.” Didi says: “We wait for Godot.” Time loops endlessly; hope fades. Round and round they go. Like everybody else.
Waiting for Godot summary
Waiting for Godot play premiered in Paris in 1953, and Lloyd’s production marks the fifth time it has been on Broadway. While there’s scant action, there’s lots of talk. Vladimir and Estragon discuss time, suffering, Godot’s arrival, existence, memories, meaninglessness, religion, suicide, companionship, and the absurdity of life. It’s a funny-sad reflection on the human condition.
What to expect at Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot is all about minimalism, but the show’s production design adds depth and dimension. Soutra Gilmour’s scruffy black costumes, from bowler hats to scuffed boots, mirror Didi and Gogo’s hardship as they languish in limbo. Jon Clark’s mood-enhancing lighting goes from glaring to shadowy to sickly green. Ben and Max Ringham’s sound design makes every word land.
What audiences are saying about Waiting for Godot
In the run-up to opening night, the play had earned a 71% audience approval rating on Show-Score, an online theatre review aggregator. Audience members commented on the cast, the play, and the design.
- “A brilliant gem, both engrossing and supremely well-acted by a stellar cast on a jaw-dropping modern stage.” - Show-Score user Elisa_9119
- “Beckett’s masterpiece, nearly 75 years old, remains an enigma. For me, it’s like the ‘spinach’ in the best-plays-ever-dinner, and its (purposeful) repetition and bleakness eventually wear you out.” - Show-Score user GreatAvi
- “I went because of the long-awaited Bill and Ted reunion and it did not disappoint. Keanu played a familiar role. But Alex Winter was amazing. Dare I say excellent!!!” - Show-Score user Stephanie C
Read more audience reviews of Waiting for Godot on Show-Score.
Who should see Waiting for Godot
- Beckett completists will want to see this latest Broadway revival of the play widely considered to be the author’s masterwork.
- Audiences who’ve enjoyed performances by Reeves and Winter, both singularly and together in the Bill & Ted screen franchise, won’t want to miss their work in iconic roles.
- Devotees of director Jamie Lloyd, whose spare, cinematic revival of the musical Sunset Boulevard won a Tony Award last season, will be keen to see his go at Godot.
Learn more about Waiting for Godot on Broadway
Back in New York with a starry cast, Waiting for Godot makes you think about meaning in an indifferent world, and that’s a timely takeaway.
Photo credit: Waiting for Godot on Broadway. (Photos by Andy Henderson)
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