Sugar, Butter, Laughter: Richard Ridge Cracks Up With the Cast of WAITRESS

This week the stars of Broadway's sweetest new musical, Waitress, sat down with BroadwayWorld correspondent Richard Ridge to talk about life inside the heavenly pie-scented atmosphere of the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

Throughout their chat, stars Jessie Mueller, Drew Gehling, and Jenna Ushkowitz left their interviewer in stitches revealing stories of mid-show bathroom breaks, backstage iPhone pranks, and onstage teamwork involving erratic baking products.

It's no wonder to anyone that in telling the story of a small-town Waitress with big dreams, the cast has achieved a sort of small town camaraderie backstage that makes for some truly entertaining anecdotes. Here are five of the most entertaining behind the scenes tidbits from our panel with the cast of Waitress.

1) Paulus Presentations

During the rehearsal period of her shows, director Diane Paulus asks each member of the company to come up with a nine-minute character presentation, an exercise so challenging even Tony Award-winner Mueller doesn't relish the memory. But newcomer Ushkowitz and co-star Dackin Matthews, who was filming on the day of the exercise, may want to start prepping since it seems the rest of the cast is still waiting for those presentations.

2) iPhone Fun

It's probably best not to leave your iPhone unattended backstage at the Brooks Atkinson these days. Ushkowitz reports finding many silly photos and videos on hers post-performance, left there by cast mates who commandeer the device in her dressing room while she's onstage.

3) Dressing Room Past-times

Ushkowitz shares a dressing room with co-star Keala Settle and the two have taken up the iPhone game Cookie Jam as a shared hobby during their offstage time. Gehling also shares a entire floor with Chris Fitzgerald (Ogie) and Nick Cordero (Earl). No one got into any specifics, but it seems the three mischievous co-stars make "mayhem" when not onstage.

4) Prop Mania

From missing pregnancy tests to flying prescription pads, the cast of Waitress has a ton of props to contend with throughout the show and sometimes the placement of a fork or a the tilt of a coffee pot can make all the difference in the success of a scene. Things don't always go smoothly, but the cast makes easy work of covering up the mishaps.

5) Mama, it's amazing what baking can do...

The baking elements used onstage during the show don't always cooperate and though audiences may not know it, the cast spends much of their time navigating the wayward ingredients that are left on the stage. Thanks to some solid onstage teamwork, including some creative mid show re-blocking to sweep up any leftover messes, the cast makes it work to keep everyone safe.

Hear these stories and many more in our full interview with Richard Ridge and the cast of Waitress!

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!