The reviews are rolling in for the live stage capture of Waitress, starring writer and 2023 Tony nominee Sara Bareilles, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and simultaneously held a live screening in Times Square on June 12.
News of the film's existence was finally confirmed by the production on social media in April. Fans had been aware of the poorly kept secret thanks to Bareilles briefly sharing footage of her watching a rough cut of the live stage capture on her Instagram stories.
Adapted from the 2007 film and featuring a book by Jessie Nelson and a Tony-nominated score by Bareilles, Waitress was developed and premiered by Massachusetts' American Repertory Theater before debuting on Broadway in 2015, picking up four 2016 Tony nominations including Best Musical. The work made a Broadway return at the Ethel Barrymore following the COVID-19 shutdown beginning September 2, 2021, sticking around through December 20. Bareilles (Into the Woods, Girls5Eva) first played Jenna as a replacement to original star Jessie Mueller; she ended up headlining two more limited engagements throughout the original run and did a stint in London’s West End prior to the coronavirus shutdown.
Bareilles is joined by the musical's complete encore run cast, including Christopher Fitzgerald in his Tony-nominated performance as Ogie, Drew Gehling as Dr. Pomatter, Charity Angél Dawson as Becky, Caitlin Houlahan as Dawn, Eric Anderson as Cal, Dakin Matthews as Joe, and Joe Tippett as Earl. The Broadway encore company was rounded out by Tyrone Davis, Jr., Matt DeAngelis, Andrew Fitch, Henry Gottfried, Molly Jobe, Emily Koch, Max Kumangai, Anastacia McCleskey, Gerianne Pérez, Stephanie Torns, and Nyla Watson.
Read the reviews here.
Deadline (Damon Wise)
Geek Vibes Nation (Larry Fried)
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Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
Waitress, produced by Barry and Fran Weissler alongside Norton and Elayne Herrick, features sets by Scott Pask, costumes by Suttirat Anne Larlarb, lighting by Tony Christopher Akerlind, and sound by Jonathan Deans. Nadia DiGiallonardo serves as music supervisor. Casting is by Telsey + Company.
Diane Paulus directed Waitress for the stage, and is joined by Brett Sullivan and book writer Nelson to direct the live stage filming. Alecia Parker is executive producer of the screen capture, with Michael Roiff, Barry and Fran Weissler, Bareilles, Nelson, and Paul Morphos serving as producers.
