Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Bromance is in the air: Taking a look at the much hyped Broadway revivals of WAITING FOR GODOT and ART

• By drediman
• October 7, 2025
• No Comments

This fall, bromance is in the air, as evidenced by the much hyped Broadway revivals of a pair of well-trodden plays that explore male friendships in depth. These would be the starry productions of Samuel Beckett’s seminal classic Waiting for Godot at the Hudson Theatre and Yasmina Reza’s Tony-winning Art at the Music Box Theatre. Although I would be hard pressed to say that either are worth the exorbitant premium prices they are commanding (upwards of around $500), these revivals nevertheless bring welcome variety and clout to a fall Broadway season that’s just now starting to heat up. As per usual, read on for my thoughts on these hot tickets.

WAITING FOR GODOT
Hudson Theatre
Through January 4

The more audacious of the two revivals over at the Hudson Theatre is the ubiquitous Jamie Lloyd’s production of Beckett’s absurdist masterpiece Waiting For Godot (RECOMMENDED), which reunites “Bill & Ted” stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in the odd couple roles of Estrogen and Vladimir, respectively. Over the years, heavy hitters like Ian McKellen/Patrick Stewart and Robbin Williams/Steve Martin have famously taken on these iconic roles to great acclaim, albeit in more traditionally staged productions. That being said, Lloyd’s minimalist and sleekly modern aesthetic is actually relatively unobtrusive within the context of the bleak and surreal landscape of Beckett’s play (the striking scenic design, which is dominated by an imposing cylindrical cone, is by Sutra Gilmour), even despite the occasional nods to contemporary popular culture. Although the requisite physicality and clowning don’t come quite as naturally to Reeves and Winter, they give thoughtful “everyman” performances that don’t overtly call attention to themselves. Arguably the stronger performance belongs to Winter, who imbues Vladimir with a knowing sadness and encroaching desperation that emotionally grounds the production — and Reeves’ more spacey portrayal. Suffice to say, their chemistry is palpable and they play off each other with trust and amusing playfulness, which makes the power struggle between the two characters register with a strange sense of comfort. Delivering the flashier, more idiosyncratic performances as Pozzo and Lucky are Brandon J. Dirden and Michael Patrick Thornton, whose more extreme power dynamics are a manifestation of the instability of Beckett’s world, as a reflection of ours.

ART
Music Box Theatre
Through December 21

Then there’s the return of Yasmina Reza’s comedy of manners Art (RECOMMENDED) at the Music Box (the popular play bagged the Tony Award for Best Play in 1998, as did Reza’s equally caustic follow-up God of Carnage in 2009). At about thirty years old, the play still more or less holds up as an observant — if slight — critique of the bonds that tie male friends together, namely as it relates to power struggle, communication (or the lack thereof), and notions of masculinity. Simply put, the work depicts the tension between three longtime friends that starts mounting when one of them extravagantly shells out an immense amount of money for a painting that is in essence simply a white canvas. The finely-tuned revival — elegantly and unfussily staged by veteran director Scott Ellis — features thoughtfully etched turns by stage and screen stars Neil Patrick Harris, Bobby Cannavale, and James Corden, each of whom have no difficulties tapping into the play’s comic absurdity and underlying pathos. Corden gives the most show-stopping performance of the lot, easily getting the laughs with his impish, hilariously verbose portrayal of a man tentatively crawling through life on the fringes. Harris and Cannavale, on the other hand, face off with increasing aggression and resentment, culminating in a convincingly choreographed physical altercation between the two. Although Art isn’t as novel nor as striking as when it first premiered in the 1990s — since then, it seems like the topic of toxic masculinity has been dissected ad nauseam — this tasteful revival remains enjoyable and mildly thought-provoking, as well as a sturdy vehicle for its trio of stars (my only gripe is that perhaps casting directors could have chosen an actor of color to play one of the roles?).