NewsWaitress Is Officially a Hit: Recoups After 10 Months on BroadwaySara Bareillesβ� musical pays back its investors.
By
Robert Viagas
January 26, 2017
Jessie Mueller and the cast of WaitressPhoto by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
All the investors in the Broadway musical Waitress got their slices of the pie this week when the show announced that it has recouped its entire $12 million investment after less than ten months at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where the Tony-nominated musical continues.
Waitress is the first Broadway musical in history to have four women in the four top creative team spots, with a book by Jessie Nelson, a score by five-time Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, choreography by Lorin Latarro, and direction by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus. The show is also only the second musical (along with Hamilton) from the 2015β�16 season to reach profitability so far. Waitress is produced by Barry and Fran Weissler and Norton and Elayne Herrick.
Waitress began performances on March 25, 2016, and opened April 24. The show was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical, and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album. The show is scheduled to begin its U.S. national tour at Clevelandβs Playhouse Square this October.
The current Broadway cast is led by the Tony-nominated Jessie Mueller in the central role of Jenna, βan 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 townβs 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.β�
