Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter go on a new excellent adventure: ‘Waiting for Godot’
Let’s go back in time — to 1989 — when movie-goers first met the dopey but adorable time-traveling headbangers in “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.”
The film put actors Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter on the map — and began a friendship.
Around three and a half years ago, Reeves had an idea. “I was in a hotel room,” he told Morning Edition host Michel Martin. “I was thinking about what Alex and I could work on again. And then it just struck me: Waiting for Godot.”
Whether a stroke of madness or brilliance, their pitch found an enthusiastic partner in director Jamie Lloyd. On September 13, Reeves and Winter began preview performances at New York’s Hudson Theater.
In case you weren’t a theater kid in school, “Waiting for Godot” is a more-than-70 year old surrealist play by Samuel Beckett about faith, patience and the mysteries of existence — as two friends, Vladimir (played by Winter) and Estragon (Reeves) wait for Godot, who may never show up.
Winter has some Broadway experience under his belt, but for Reeves, this is his first time appearing on The Great White Way. Reeves admitted to feeling “terror, anxiety, hope” before generating a little forced bravado as he bellowed, “Looking forward to it… said the person who has no idea what he’s talking about!”
Winter says the two actors are approaching the themes of “Godot” very differently in their 60’s than they would have as younger men.
“Having experienced a lot of highs and lows and loss, the play is a lot more personal to me now,” he said. “That’s what the play is about in some ways, running away from that pain. The whole joke of ‘Waiting for Godot’ is this constant distraction, distraction, distraction from the immediate present.”
Waiting for Godot is scheduled to run through Jan. 4, 2026.
The audio version of this story was produced by Mansee Khurana.
Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he targeted U.S. political parties, memo says
The man accused of placing two pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of Jan. 6, 2021 told investigators someone needed to "speak up" for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen, prosecutors said Sunday.
Chinese military stages drills around Taiwan to warn ‘external forces’
The drills came after Beijing expressed anger at U.S. arms sales, and a statement by Japan's prime minister saying its military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan.
Trump and Netanyahu to meet in Florida at a crucial moment for the Gaza ceasefire
President Trump could use the face-to-face at his Mar-a-Lago estate to look for ways to speed up the peace process, as Israel's leader has been accused of not pushing his side to move fast enough.
‘Bomb cyclone’ forecasted to bring heavy snow, blizzard conditions and dangerous travel
A 'bomb cyclone' is intensifying severe winter weather for millions of people across the U.S. The system is expected to knock out power and disrupt holiday travel.
Russia sends 3 Iranian satellites into orbit, report says
The report said that a Russian rocket sent the satellites on Sunday from a launchpad in eastern Russia.
Viral global TikToks: A twist on soccer, Tanzania’s Charlie Chaplin, hope in Gaza
TikToks are everywhere (well, except countries like Australia and India, where they've been banned.) We talk to the creators of some of the year's most popular reels from the Global South.
