Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter brought Broadway audiences to their feet with a shocking and hilarious Halloween stunt during their run of Waiting for Godot at the Hudson Theatre.

After the October 31, 2025, performance, the longtime friends returned to the stage wearing nothing but underwear and fake blood, sending the audience into fits of laughter. The stunt was a playful nod to director Jamie Lloyd’s recent productions, including Sunset Blvd. and Evita, which ended with their leading men stripped down and covered in stage blood.

Bill & Ted Stars Surprise Broadway Fans

The stars of the Bill & Ted franchise—Reeves, 61, and Winter, 60—have delighted fans not only with their performances but also with their comedic timing. Photographers captured the pair’s stone-faced return to the stage before they joined in raising awareness for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ annual red bucket campaign.

“Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter clearly got the inside joke,” PEOPLE notes, referencing Lloyd’s trend of ending shows with his actors humorously bloodied and in minimal clothing.

About Waiting for Godot on Broadway

The limited production began previews on September 13, 2025, officially opening on September 28, and will run through January 4, 2026. Samuel Beckett’s iconic play, widely considered one of the greatest of all time, explores themes of uncertainty, hope, and the human condition.

In this revival:

• Keanu Reeves plays Estragon
• Alex Winter plays Vladimir
• Brandon J. Dirden plays Pozzo
• Michael Patrick Thornton plays Lucky
• Zaynn Arora and Eric Williams play Boy

The production also includes understudies Jesse Aaronson and Franklin Bongjio.

A Broadway Debut and a Return

This marks Reeves’ Broadway debut and Winter’s return to the stage for the first time since 1979. The duo has been friends for over 35 years, first working together in the 1989 cult classic Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. They reprised their roles for the 1991 sequel and the 2020 installment.

Reflecting on their friendship, Winter told PEOPLE: “We were young and finding our way. Those edges start to smooth out a little bit.” He added that Reeves is now “maybe a little wiser, a little more relaxed, and more at ease with the world.”

Jamie Lloyd’s Unique Broadway Touch

Lloyd’s creative flair is evident in this Halloween curtain call, continuing his trend of ending shows with bold and comedic visual statements. Previous examples include Tom Francis’ blood-soaked bow in Sunset Blvd. and Diego Andres Rodriguez’s underwear moment in Evita.

Fans and theatergoers can experience this unique, comedic, and thought-provoking revival until its scheduled closing in January 2026.