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Illinois Theatre alumnus Brandon J. Dirden (MFA ’03 Acting) plays Pozzo in Jamie Lloyd’s production of Waiting for Godot on Broadway. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett is a play about two friends, Vladimir and Estragon, who wait endlessly for a mysterious figure named Godot, who never arrives. As they pass the time, they engage in repetitive conversations and struggle with boredom and despair. The play explores themes of existential uncertainty, the search for meaning, and the absurdity of human existence. Dirden plays the pompous Pozzo, one of only five characters in the play. Vladimir and Estragon are played by Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.
Brandon J. Dirden previously appeared on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning productions of Take Me Out; Skeleton Crew, for which he received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards nominations; All the Way (playing Martin Luther King, Jr. opposite Bryan Cranston); and the revival of August Wilson’s Jitney (appearing as Booster). Other Broadway credits include Clybourne Park, Enron, and Prelude to a Kiss. Off-Broadway, he appeared as Boy Willie in The Piano Lesson, for which he won OBIE, Theatre World, and AUDELCO Awards; The First Breeze of Summer and Day of Absence, all at Signature Theatre; the world premiere of Detroit ’67 at the Public and Classical Theatre of Harlem; Peter and the Starcatcher at New York Theatre Workshop; and as Brutus in TFANA’s production of Julius Caesar. On screen, he has appeared in “The Good Wife,” “For Life,” “Evil,” “The Big C,” “Public Morals,” “Manifest,” “The Get Down,” “The Accidental Wolf,” “Blue Bloods,” “The Quad,” the miniseries “Mrs. America,” and four seasons of “The Americans” as Agent Dennis Aderholt. Dirden has directed numerous plays, including the revival of Steve Carter’s Eden at Yale Rep and most recently Arthur Miller’s The Price at Two River Theater. He is an associate arts professor at Tisch Grad Acting at NYU, a volunteer at the 52nd Street Project, and a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA, and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Waiting for Godot opened November 6 and runs through January 4, 2026. You can learn more about the production and purchase tickets at godotbroadway.com.
