mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article about the reopening of Broadway today...
Mr. Weissler added that in addition to reopening Chicago, he is also planning a limited run of Waitress, the Tony Award-nominated musical he produced that closed in early 2020 before the pandemic. The Waitress revival will star Sara Bareilles, the shows composer and lyricist, he said.
Exciting! I hope they didn’t throw out the hidden pie ovens!
This is my most seen show and wouldn’t have expected to see it again on Broadway. Excited to see who the cast will be, fingers crossed on an outside chance of Kimiko Glenn as Dawn.
I think we are going to see a bunch of semi-stunts meant to make big money as quickly as possible but
a) so what- there will be no theater if the financial powers that be dont see the ability to make money doing it
and b) as far as stunts go, this is a great one, that should get some cash in the door, make Broadway feel normal again-- and with a toned down set, is likely a pretty cheap show to throw up. Count me in.
This was definitely unexpected news. If this revival does pan out, it'll be interesting to see what theater they end up in. Possibly the Nederlander given that the original run was also at a Nederlander-owned house. Correct me if something is already slated to open there and it's just slipping my mind. Of course, the Weisslers have also worked with the Shuberts multiple times. It might just come down to availability.
KingOfTheMine said: "This was definitely unexpected news. If this revival does pan out, it'll be interesting to see what theater they end up in. Possibly the Nederlander given that the original run was also at a Nederlander-owned house. Correct me if something is already slated to open there and it's just slipping my mind. Of course, the Weisslers have also worked with the Shuberts multiple times. It might just come down to availability."
The Lehman Trilogy was in previews at the Nederlander when the shutdown started; was that one of the shows announced to not be reopening? I can't remember.
Per the below article, Lehman Trilogy was still planning to open when Broadway came back but was going to look for another house. Of course, things are probably even more up in the air since Scott Rudin stepped back from his productions.
For those wondering, it can't be eligible for any Tony Awards. For a revival to be eligible, it needs to open three years after the last production closed.
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
I wonder if this will be limited in that it’s just one run of Sara Bareilles in the role, or if it'll extend a bit longer for a couple of other actors to switch out as Jenna. I'm guessing it might also be used as a stop gap for a theater that might have something coming in later?
Like 9 people watched Little Voice and the lead has already signed on for a new series. And, considering every other show Apple has been renewed almost immediately after starting, it's safe to say it's not coming back. As for the other show, it just wrapped a few months ago meaning if it gets renewed they won't start filming until next year most likely. She has plenty of time later this year to star for a few months in Waitress. It did well when she was in it so it sounds like a no brainer to me.
Agreed. Get her and another singer/songwriter on her level and let it sell like hotcakes. Maybe Josh Groban? He doesn't really have the right voice for the music, but he's of the same status.
Count me out for this one. I get WHY they're bringing it back, but at the same time I'm not too thrilled about a replica copy of a show that JUST closed coming back. But, then again, it's not like there are going to be new shows ready to fill some of these vacant theatres right away!
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
Mueller was wonderful, but Bareilles was a revelation and I’m glad the show will probably be filmed with her. Before the pandemic, theatre culture and mainstream pop culture were closer than they’d ever been together, and having a mainstream marquee star as writer and star of a successful musical was only pulling the two into closer harmony. That synergy has almost definitely been hurt by the pandemic, so this will give it a boost.
I know she's promoting Girls5Eva right now, but I find it very strange that we've heard nothing from Sara? Maybe she has a contract as to when she can start talking about it? I find it odd that the only thing we've heard is a WSJ article but that's it.