Waitress announces limited Broadway revival with Sara Bareilles

Waitress is set for a limited revival on Broadway with Sara Bareilles, it’s been confirmed.

The musical is set to return to New York fewer than two years after it closed in January 2020.

Waitress will run between 2 September 2021 and 9 January 2022 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre with Sara Bareilles in the lead role of Jenna Hunterson through to 17 October.

Bareilles said: “I couldn’t miss the opportunity to be there when Broadway welcomes audiences back into theaters that have been sitting dark for over a year. It is a gift to get to revisit the beautiful story of Waitress, centered around hope, resilience, and the support of our chosen family.

“It’s so special to be able to celebrate those same qualities at this moment in time within our theater family.”

Further casting is to be confirmed.

It’s rumoured that there are plans to film the show having previously hoped to record the West End production before the pandemic forced theatres to close.

The news comes after plans were announced to reopen Broadway in September with Six The Musical set to be one of the first shows to reopen.

Based on the film of the same name, Waitress tells the story of Jenna a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage.

The musical features a Tony and Grammy nominated score by Bareilles, a book by Jessie Nelson and direction by Diane Paulus.

The show ran for over 1,500 performances on Broadway between 2016 and 2020, where it was nominated for four Tony Awards.

A West End production opened in February 2019 with Katharine McPhee. Originally due to play to July 2020, the show ultimately played its final performance in London on March 14 when theatres were shut down.

Bareilles previously played the role of Jenna for three stints in the Broadway production and also appeared in the London cast prior to the closure of theatres.

A first UK tour of Waitress is currently scheduled to begin in September with Lucie Jones, Sandra Marvin, Evelyn Hoskins and Busted star Matt Willis

About the author: Jessica White

Recent University graduate Jessica is the newest writer for Stageberry. She's over the moon to be sharing her theatre knowledge and passion for musicals with the online world.