Give the pie a gold medal: Waitress, the musical that marked the Broadway debut of singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, has recouped its $12 million capitalization after less than 10 months, producers Barry & Fran Weissler, with Norton and Elayne Herrick, said this morning.
Starring Tony Award winner Jessie Mueller in the title role, the show has broken several house records since opening in April at the Nederlander Organization’s 1,045-seat Brooks Atkinson Theatre. It earned four Tony nominations in a season overshadowed by Hamilton, and was included in Deadline’s list of the top shows of 2016.
Based on the 2007 film written by the late Adrienne Shelly, Waitress is the first Broadway musical ever to have women in the four top creative team spots: score by Bareilles, book by Jessie Nelson, direction by Diane Paulus and choreography by Lorin Latarro. The cast album is a Grammy nominee.
Waitress tells the story of Jenna, an expert pie maker in a small town, who dreams of a way out of her loveless marriage. A baking contest in a nearby county and the town’s new doctor may offer her a chance at a new life, while her fellow waitresses offer their own recipes to happiness. But Jenna must find the courage and strength within herself to rebuild her life.
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