Guide to ‘Waiting for Godot’ on Broadway starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter

Samuel Beckett’s existential classic returns in a new production featuring the Bill & Ted stars and real-life friends, and staged by of-the-moment director Jamie Lloyd.

Joe DziemianowiczSeptember 3, 2025, 04:00

Cue up another excellent adventure. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, two individually renowned screen actors jointly famous for their Bill & Ted films, are now taking the stage in a new production of Waiting for Godot on Broadway, one that marks Reeves's Broadway debut and Winter's return after 40-plus years.

The longtime real-life pals lead Samuel Beckett’s absurdist classic about two hapless vagabonds endlessly anticipating a no-show’s arrival. Tony Award nominee Jamie Lloyd (Sunset Boulevard), a director who makes the most of minimalist stagings, steers the starry revival at the Hudson Theatre.

Learn more about the play and its storied history with the FAQs below, and don’t wait to secure your seats on New York Theatre Guide.

Get Waiting for Godot tickets now.

Originally published on Sep 3, 202520:04

Frequently asked questions

What is Waiting for Godot about?

A tragicomedy in two acts, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is about human uncertainty, dependence, and the futility of expectation. The story follows two friends, Vladimir and Estragon, as they wait endlessly for the mysterious Godot. Insights on the absurdity of the human condition emerge from their repetitive conversations and encounters.

Where is Waiting for Godot playing on Broadway?

Waiting for Godot on Broadway is at the Hudson Theatre at 141 W. 44th St. between Broadway and Sixth Avenue.

A 1,009-seat theatre that attracts starry productions, the Hudson has recently housed shows like The Last Five Years, All In: Comedy About Love, Once Upon a Mattress, Merrily We Roll Along, Just For Us, and A Doll's House.

How long is Waiting for Godot on Broadway?

Waiting for Godot runs 2 hours and 15 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. The typical duration for a Broadway play is between 90 minutes and 2.5 hours, and longer shows often include intermissions.

What days is Waiting for Godot playing on Broadway?

Waiting for Godot plays Tuesday through Sunday, with two performances on Wednesdays and Saturdays and no performances on Mondays. This schedule is subject to one-off changes; check our Waiting for Godot page for the complete performance calendar.

When did Waiting for Godot premiere?

Waiting for Godot debuted on Broadway on April 19, 1956, at the Golden Theatre, following its Paris world premiere on January 5, 1953 at Théâtre de Babylone and a subsequent London run.

The 2025 Broadway revival of Waiting for Godot begins performances September 13.

Who wrote Waiting for Godot?

Samuel Beckett wrote Waiting for Godot. One of the most influential writers of the 20th century, he was born in 1906 in Dublin, Ireland. His work is renowned for its minimalist style, dark humor, and explorations of existentialism, isolation, time, and the absurdity of life.

Along with Waiting for Godot, a cornerstone of absurdist theatre, Beckett’s most famous works include Endgame and Krapp’s Last Tape. In 1969, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his innovative writing in both English and French.

Waiting for Godot characters

In Waiting for Godot, two companions wait by a tree for the mysterious Godot, hoping for change. A couple other travelers arrive, sparking alternately funny and edgy moments.

Estragon (Gogo): A weary, emotional man plagued by physical discomfort and forgetfulness.
Vladimir (Didi): A relatively intellectual and reflective man who clings to routine and seeks a purpose.
Pozzo: A domineering, self-important traveler.
Lucky: Pozzo’s mistreated servant, bound and mostly silent.
The Boy: A messenger who works for Godot.

Who is in the Waiting for Godot Broadway cast?

The 2025 Broadway cast of Waiting for Godot features:

Keanu Reeves (Speed, Point Break, The Matrix, John Wick) as Estragon
Alex Winter (Bill & Ted alongside Reeves, director of Downloaded) as Vladimir
Brandon J. Dirden (The Americans, Broadway’s All the Way, Obie Award winner for The Piano Lesson) as Pozzo
Michael Patrick Thornton (Private Practice, Broadway's Macbeth, A Doll’s House) as Lucky
Zaynn Arora and Eric Williams alternating as A Boy

Major productions of Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot has had a number of high-profile stagings, indicators of the enigmatic play’s enduring appeal. Here are some of the landmark ones.

1953: The world premiere opens in Paris at Théâtre de Babylone. Critics were divided, but the play became a landmark of absurdist theatre.
1955: Waiting for Godot debuts in London’s West End, directed by Peter Hall, at the Arts Theatre.
January 1956: The American premiere is staged at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami.
April 1956: Waiting for Godot premieres on Broadway at the Golden Theatre.
1957: A six-performance run constitutes the play's first Broadway revival
1988: Director Mike Nichols’s Off-Broadway staging with Lincoln Center Theater marks the 40th anniversary of when Beckett wrote the play.
1988: Dutch theatre company De Haarlemse Toneelschuur presents the first production with an all-female cast.
2009: Nathan Lane and Bill Irwin lead the second Broadway revival.
2013: Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Billy Crudup, and Shuler Hensley lead the starry third Broadway revival.
2025: The fourth Broadway revival plays at the Hudson Theatre with Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.

Celebrities who have appeared in Waiting for Godot

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter star in Waiting for Godot on Broadway in 2025 as Estragon and Vladimir, respectively. But the lead roles in Beckett’s enigmatic work have been a magnet for high-profile actors since the beginning.

The cast of Mike Nichols’s 1988 Off-Broadway staging featured Robin Williams as Estragon and Steve Martin as Vladimir, plus F. Murray Abraham as Pozzo and Bill Irwin as Lucky.
In 2009, a U.K. revival featured Ian McKellen as Estragon and Patrick Stewart as Vladimir. They reprised their performances in a 2013 Broadway revival alongside Shuler Hensley as Pozzo and Billy Crudup as Lucky.
The 2009 Broadway revival featured Nathan Lane as Estragon and Bill Irwin as Vladimir.

What awards has Waiting for Godot won?

Waiting for Godot has received significant recognition in Paris, London, and New York and beyond. Most notably, the 1955 London staging directed by Peter Hall was named “Most Controversial Play of the Year” — a one-time change from the Best New Play category — by the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

The 2009 Broadway revival received Tony nominations for Best Play Revival, Best Featured Actor in a Play (John Glover), and Best Costume Design of a Play.

Onscreen adaptations of Waiting for Godot

Beckett’s play has been adapted into a number of films, including:

A 1961 American telecast with Zero Mostel as Estragon and Burgess Meredith as Vladimir
A 1961 British production broadcast on BBC Television
A 2001 adaptation as part of the Beckett on Film project
A 1977 TV movie performed by the Los Angeles Actors' Theatre
A 2021 filmed production featuring Ethan Hawke as Vladimir and John Leguizamo as Estragon

Fun facts about Waiting for Godot

While you wait to see the play, learn some more tidbits about the landmark work.

Potato, po-Godot. "GOD-oh," with the accent on the first syllable, is how the title should be pronounced, per Beckett. Some American productions use the pronunciation "go-DOH" (but this revival isn't one of them).
Stage directions describe a sparse setting: a road and a tree. The 1819 painting Two Men Contemplating the Moon by Caspar David Friedrich was an inspiration for the play.
Beckett never explicitly calls Vladimir and Estragon “tramps,” though that label stuck early on. They’ve also been played as clowns, vaudeville performers, and displaced refugees.
Two site-specific stagings of the play include a 1957 San Quentin Prison production and one set in 2010 New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina.
Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s Pass Over, a story of two young Black men seen on Broadway in 2021 and filmed by Spike Lee, took inspiration from Waiting for Godot.

How to get Waiting for Godot tickets

Get Waiting for Godot tickets on New York Theatre Guide. Some 72 years after the play's debut, Waiting for Godot’s meditation on the search for meaning is as evergreen and provocative as ever.