The Inbetweeners’ Blake Harrison will take over the role of Ogie from 30 Rock star Jack McBrayer following the American actor’s final performance in the London production of hit Broadway show Waitress on 15 June 2019.
Best known for playing Neil Sutherland in the hit E4 show and the two movie spin-offs, Harrison was recently seen on stage in London in The Park Theatre production The End of the Pier.
He will complete a new cast line-up that includes the previously announced Lucie Jones who will take over the central role of Jenna and ex-Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts who will make her West End debut as Dawn from 17 June.
Jones, who first found fame on the ITV talent show X Factor before making a name for herself on stage in a series of hit shows including the 2oth anniversary production of Rent, is due to step in following the departure of Katharine McPhee.
McPhee, whose own career began with the US talent show American Idol, is also due to serve up her final performance as Jenna at London’s Adelphi Theatre on 15 June.
After a headline-grabbing run on Strictly Dancing in 2018, former Pussycat Doll Roberts will become the latest Strictly star to join the cast of a hit West End Show when she takes on the role of Dawn (currently played by Laura Baldwin).
Harrison, Jones, and Roberts will join current cast members: Marisha Wallace as Becky, Peter Hannah as Earl, David Hunter as Dr. Pomatter, and Shaun Prendergast as Old Joe.
The company also includes Kelly Agbowu, Piers Bate, Nicole Raquel Dennis, Michael Hamway, Peter Hannah, Stephen Leask, Chris McGuigan, Olivia Moore, Nathaniel Morrison, Sarah O’Connor, Leanne Pinder, Charlotte Riby and Mark Willshire.
Hunger for the London debut of the hit Broadway show which celebrated its official opening night in March, resulted in the early announcement of an extended booking period taking the show’s debut run at the Adelphi up until 19 October.
The first major West End musical to boast an all-female creative team, Waitress features a book by Jessie Nelson and music and lyrics by pop singer songwriter Sara Bareilles. The production is directed by Tony Award-winning director Diana Paulus with choreography by Lorin Laterro.
About to enter its third year on Broadway, the musical tale of love friendship and perfect pies which based on the cult classic 2007 film of the same name, was originally expected to arrive on this side of the Atlantic in 2017.
On its Broadway opening in 2016, Waitress was nominated for four Outer Critics’ Circle Awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical; two Drama League Award Nominations, including Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical; six Drama Desk nominations, including Outstanding Musical; and four Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical.
A critical and commercial hit, the show’s success has added poignancy due to the tragic loss of the film’s creator Adrienne Shelly who was murdered just before the movie premiered at the famous Sundance Film Festival. Promotional material for the show in the US pays tribute to Shelly and her legacy, and refers to the charitable Adrienne Shelly Foundation set up in her memory by her husband.
Waitress began previews in August 2015 at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it transferred to Broadway’s Brooks Atkinson Theatre in March 2016.The show is currently in the middle of a successful US tour and plans were recently announced for an Australian premiere production at the Sydney Lyric Theatre in 2020.
Waitress is produced by Barry and Fran Weissler and Norton and Elayne Herrick.
Angela Thomas
Tickets for Waitress are available HERE.
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