Just hours before this week’s first preview performance of the eagerly-anticipated London run of the hit Broadway show Waitress, the show’s producers responded to high public demand by announcing the release of more tickets and an extended booking period to 19 October 2019.
Starring American Idol finalist Katharine McPhee (making her West End debut as Jenna following a Broadway run in the central role in 2018) the show’s London run began previewing at the Adelphi Theatre on Friday (8 February).
With an official opening night scheduled for 7 March, the producers have also announced that a limited number of day seats will be available to purchase in person for £25 from the theatre box from 10am for the Monday-Wednesday performances only.
McPhee heads a cast that also includes fellow Americans, Emmy-nominated 30 Rock star Jack McBrayer, also making his West End stage debut in the show and Marisha Wallace, who made her own West End debut last year in the Savoy Theatre’s hit Dreamgirls.
Wallace will play Becky alongside Laura Baldwin (Eugenius!) as Dawn, Peter Hannah (The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, National Theatre of Scotland) as Earl, David Hunter (Kinky Boots, Adelphi Theatre) as Dr. Pomatter and Shaun Prendergast (As You Like It, Phoenix Theatre) as Old Joe.
The full company includes Kelly Agbowu, Laura Baldwin, Piers Bate, Nicole Raquel Dennis, Michael Hamway, Peter Hannah, David Hunter, Stephen Leask, Jack McBrayer, Chris McGuigan, Katharine McPhee, Olivia Moore, Nathaniel Morrison, Sarah O’Connor, Leanne Pinder, Shaun Prendergast, Charlotte Riby and Marisha Wallace.
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, based on the cult classic 2007 film of the same name, was expected to arrive on this side of the Atlantic in 2017 but the search for a suitable London theatre took longer than expected.
Late last year the production teams announced plans for the first ever Cast Album Karaoke Nights following the performances on Tuesday 19 February and Monday 18 March. The events will give theatregoers the chance to take to the stage accompanied by the show’s musical director Katherine Woolley to sing one minute from any song from the show.
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 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.
Angela Thomas
Tickets for Waitress are available HERE
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