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After weeks of preview performances, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter’s Broadway revival of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot officially opened on Friday and will run through January 4. If you aren’t familiar with the material, it’s an absurdist play about two men who debate existential and philosophical topics as they wait underneath a tree for a mysterious Godot, believing he will give them salvation.
Alex Winter has worked both on and off Broadway several times since the 1970s. Although Keanu’s done theatre before, this was his Broadway debut. That didn’t stop either of them from being nervous about how their excellent Broadway adventure would be received by their fellow thespians. During a recent panel at The New Yorker Festival, they shared those fears with host Naomi Fry. They also revealed Alex’s advice to Keanu in regards to performing on the Great White Way.
“I kept saying, which he just kept laughing at me about, which deserved laughter, was it’s just a stage,” Winter recalled of Reeves. “It’s just another stage. I mean, Keanu had done Hamlet, back in the day [and] we were doing Bogus Journey. He was doing all this, you know, Shakespeare workshops, like he knows theater very well.”
Winter said he reassured Reeves not to overthink performing on Broadway, and thankfully, others in the industry have been just as easy-going.
“Don’t let it zap your head. Like it’s an audience and it’s a stage,” Winter said. “It does have significance. It’s Broadway.”
“They’ve been very warm to us. We came and did that Tony thing in June and everyone has been really lovely,” he continued, referring to them presenting an award at the Tony Awards.
Winter, who previously starred with Reeves in the Bill & Ted film franchise, said “there’s a specific Broadway world” with its own culture, but everyone has been “quite inviting” about Reeves’ debut in Waiting for Godot.
“But, that’s not to say that we didn’t, you know, both quietly,” he added, trailing off, as Reeves chimed in, “What the f—”
“Exactly. Thank you. I didn’t want to do that, but I’m glad someone did,” Winter said.
Despite the pleasant welcome, Winter confessed they were both “panicking.”
“I looked up at him and I was like, ‘Oh, he’s similarly paralyzed,’” Winter said of Reeves. “That’s good. And then the thing that went up and we did the show and it was honestly one of my favorite shows we’ve done.”
”[T]here’s a specific Broadway world [with its own culture]”. Ain’t that the truth. I’ve heard some grumbling over the last few years about the increase in Hollywood actors starring in Broadway shows. Everyone wants an EGOT nowadays, ya know? I feel like in this case, Alex and Keanu both get a pass. Alex was likely already accepted into Broadway world, and let’s be honest, there’s probably a bit of Bill & Ted nostalgia factor going on here for everyone, fans and professionals alike. Plus, it’s Keanu-freaking-Reeves! Who wouldn’t welcome him into their community? He could randomly show up on a stranger’s doorstep in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner and still be invited in. Keanu gets a free pass for being an all-around amazing human being.
As for the show itself, it’s gotten a couple of mixed, but mostly positive reviews. I’m so happy it’s being well-received! Keanu claims that the idea for their reunion came to him in a “vision” a few years ago, which is pretty perfect all-around. That said, there’s also been some scary moments. Last week, a video went viral of a woman who chased Keanu out of the stage door as he was getting into his car. His security did a great job at keeping him safe. I hope that’s just a one-off. I’m also sad that I most likely will not get a chance to get to NYC to see this play. If you’ve seen it/get to see it, I’m so jealous!
Photos credit: Jennifer Graylock-Graylock.com/Avalon and Getty
Saw it this weekend! It was indeed absurd, lol. The guys 100% gave it their all, and the supporting cast was fabulous. The set was very minimalistic and modern, very cool. You can tell that Alex and Keanu have an excellent (lol) working relationship.
Thank you!! I just found out that I won lottery seats for tomorrow! I am so, so excited!
They both seem like lovely thoughtful and kind men. I’m glad they get to perform together and have been pretty well-received.
Ah! Keanu gossip to brighten my day! Thank you! 🙂
I think we, as audience, have a built-in tendency to typecast actors in their roles. And when we are presented with someone like Keanu, it’s always a mixed reaction. As the respected critic from The Times of London said in his review of Keanu’s performance in Hamlet, for the duration of the performance, Keanu wasn’t playing Hamlet, he WAS Hamlet. And that’s his acting style. He becomes the role. And that’s can be confusion. He’s not airhead Ted; he’s not vengeful Wick, etc. He dons the persona of the role.
Anyway, I’ll link to an article for your reading pleasure.
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/arts/2015/01/10/mtcs-excellent-adventure
I have a ticket for next week. I can’t wait!! I’ll also be catching Patrick Page in Archduke. What a great couple of days!
It’s so good to see Bill & Ted’s Existential Stage Adventure, a most excellent Godot, seems to be well received — not only by critics and audiences, but most importantly, by AW’s and KR’s fellow stage actors.
I have to admit that I was a bit sceptical initially about the stage actors’ reactions, because they’re so often overlooked in favour of big names who might sell tickets but who are not up to dealing with the challenges of stage/theatre work.
Had Trump not happened, we would have gone to see WfG. I’m still a bit sad we had to miss out.
But we would have been in NYC for a congress that since has had to cancel for a lack of worldwide participants. Some other events have been relocated to Canada. We won’t go to the US for the time being. And even when the regime is gone eventually, it will take time for international relations to heal…
I love this so much. I didn’t know anything Alex Winter did outside of Bill and Ted. It is most excellent that he is also a theater guy.
I would love to see this – so hopefully they bring it to the West End in London. Thou I have tickets to see Chris Pine play Ivanov next August here so there’s that for my favourite Chris.