In 1983, Nichols had seen comedian Whoopi Goldberg's one woman show, "The Spook Show" and wanted to help her expand it. Goldberg's self-titled Broadway show opened in October 1984 and ran for 156 performances. Rosie O'Donnell said that Nichols had discovered Goldberg while she was struggling as a downtown street artist: "He gave her the entire beginning of her career and recognized her brilliance before anyone else." In 1986 Nichols directed the Broadway premiere of Andrew Bergman's "Social Security" and in 1988 directed "Waiting for Godot", starring Robin Williams and Steve Martin. Williams cited Nichols and May as among his early influences for performing intelligent comedy.