Waitress is the smash-hit, new Broadway musical, written by singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles. Based on the 2007 film of the same name, Waitress follows Jenna, who works in a diner and bakes pies that reflect her life and emotions. Featuring a folk-inspired score that has been praised by audiences and critics alike, Waitress has taken Broadway by storm. With songs such as “What’s Inside”, “Bad Idea” and “She Used to Be Mine”, the musical stars Jessie Mueller in the lead role, after she previously starred as Carole King in Beautiful. When Jenna realises that she is pregnant with her controlling husband’s baby, she quickly realises that she needs a way out. Meeting her new physician, Dr Pomatter, Jenna begins to think that life might just be better than it seems.

Waitress Musical Libretto
Waitress Musical Libretto

Based on the 2007 film by the late Adrienne Shelly, Waitress follows Jenna, a pregnant waitress in the south trapped in an abusive marriage and looking for a happy ending. She finds relief—and potentially that happy ending—by making creatively titled pies and forming a romance with an unlikely newcomer. Release date: 2016. Waitress is a musical with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, and a book by Jessie Nelson. Based on the 2007 film of the same name, written by Adrienne Shelly, the musical tells the story of Jenna Hunterson, a waitress in an unhappy marriage to her husband Earl. Mar 31, 2017 - Jun 11, 2017. Jan 16, 2018 - Mar 11, 2018. Jan 07, 2019 - Feb.

Music:

Sara Bareilles

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Lyrics:

Sara Bareilles

Book / libretto:

Jessie Nelson

Based on:

Adrienne Shelly's 2007 film

Waitress Musical Libretto

Screenplay:

Adrienne Shelly

Producer:

Barry and Fran Weissler, Norton and Elayne Herrick

Director:

Diane Paulus

Choreography:

Lorin Latarro

Original Broadway Production

Brooks Atkinson Theatre - Opened 24 Apr 2016, closed 11 Jun 2017

Cast: Jessie Mueller (Jenna Hunterson), Drew Gehling (Dr Jim Pomatter), Nick Cordero (Earl Hunterson), Keala Settle (Becky), Kimiko Glenn (Dawn), Dakin Matthews (Joe), Christopher Fitzgerald (Ogie), Eric Anderson (Cal), Claire Keane and McKenna Keane (Lulu) Replacements: Jenna Ushkowitz (Dawn)

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Twitter Synopsis:

Sara Bareilles’ colourful new musical Waitress, based on the 2007 film of the same name, makes a smash-hit on Broadway.

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Based on Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 film of the same name, Waitress follows Jenna, a waitress working in Joe’s Pie Diner in southern America. Trapped in a controlling marriage with husband Earl, she lives her life baking and selling pies with unusual titles. Jenna dreams of running away from her marriage, slowly gathering up the money to do so. Pinning her hopes of winning a large sum on the annual pie contest in a nearby town, she begins to dream big. Quickly her dreams are dashed when she discovers that she is pregnant with her husband’s baby.

With Jenna’s only friends being co-waitresses Becky, Dawn and regular customer Joe, her life changes when she meets her new physician Dr Jim Pomatter. Dr Pomatter has moved to the new town to accommodate his wife, who is completing her residency at the local hospital. Instantly, the pair are attracted to each other, and over the course of pre-natal appointments, Jenna and Dr Pomatter develop an attraction towards each other. On an unlikely evening, Jenna initiates an affair. When she is given a journal, Jenna begins to document her life and begins to reveal her thoughts through baking some increasingly peculiarly-named pies.

Meanwhile, after some persuasion, her fellow waitresses decide to embark upon romance themselves. Dawn meets Ogie, who both become so smitten with each other that they almost immediately vow eternal devotion. And whilst Becky’s marriage is not entirely fulfilling, due to her much older husband being very ill, her endless disputes with Joe’s Diner’s manager Cal lead to a more interesting romance of her own.

After Jenna gives birth to her baby girl, she gains the courage to leave her husband and begins to believe in herself a bit more. When leaving the hospital, Dr Pomatter chases after her, but she decides to end that too. She begins to serve brightly-coloured pies to her customers at a new diner where she works.

Act I

“What’s Inside” – Jenna and Company
“Opening Up” – Jenna, Becky, Dawn, Cal and Company
“The Negative” – Jenna, Becky and Dawn
“What Baking Can Do” – Jenna
“Club Knocked Up” – Jenna and Company
“Pomatter Pie” – The Waitress Band
“When He Sees Me” – Dawn and Company
“It Only Takes a Taste” – Dr Pomatter and Jenna
“You Will Still Be Mine” – Earl and Jenna
“A Soft Place to Land” – Jenna, Becky and Dawn
“Never Ever Getting Rid of Me” – Ogie and Company
“Bad Idea” – Jenna, Dr Pomatter and Company

Waitress Musical Libretto

Act II

“I Didn’t Plan It” – Becky
“Bad Idea (Reprise)” – Company
“You Matter to Me” – Dr Pomatter and Jenna
“I Love You Like a Table” – Ogie, Dawn and Company
“Take It From an Old Man” – Joe and Company
“Dear Baby” – Jenna
“She Used to Be Mine” – Jenna
“Contraction Ballet” – Jenna and Company
“Everything Changes” – Jenna and Company
“Opening Up (Finale)” – Company

2016 Drama Desk Awards: Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Christopher Fitzgerald)

2016 Outer Critics’ Circle Awards: Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Christopher Fitzgerald)