Jessie Nelson News

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Happy Friday! Help get yourself through this final day of the week before your weekend, by catching up on the latest Broadway news!

MCC Theater's production of the New York premiere of Alice By Heart, the new musical from Spring Awakening creators Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, begins previews on January 30th. The show is directed and co-written by Jessie Nelson, who penned the book for Waitress and will be the first show in the Newman Mills Theater, which is part of the new Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space. Alice by Heart stars Molly Gordon as Alice Spencer, a teenager forced to take shelter in an underground tube station during the London Blitz of World War II.

Sugar, Butter, Fayetteville! WAITRESS is coming to Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center from April 9th to 14th, 2019.

Previews begin tomorrow for the New York premiere of the musical Alice By Heart with book by Steven Sater with Jessie Nelson, music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater and directed by Jessie Nelson. Due to the heavy demand for tickets, MCC Theater (Bob LuPone, Bernie Telsey, William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) announced a three week extension for the show and tickets are now on sale through Sunday, March 31st.

Broadway Across Canada has unveiled their upcoming 2019-2020 Season package on sale today. Four theatrical productions take centre stage at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium beginning next fall including the spectacular Broadway Musical, DEAR EVAN HANSEN.

Broadway Across Canada has unveiled their upcoming 2019-2020 Season package which is available for sale today.  Four theatrical productions take centre stage at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium beginning next fall including the spectacular Broadway Musical, DEAR EVAN HANSEN. 

Waitress announced today that Joey McIntyre will don the white coat of Dr. Pomatter a day earlier than previously announced; his first performance will be Monday February 4 at 7 PM; he will be in the show through April 7.

Broadway Across Canada has unveiled their upcoming 2019-2020 Season.  Four theatrical productions take center stage at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium beginning next fall including the spectacular Broadway Musical, DEAR EVAN HANSEN. 

WAITRESS is a 2015 musical with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson, which is based on the 2007 film of the same name, written by Adrienne Shelly. It tells the story of Jenna Hunterson (Christine Dwyer), a waitress in an abusive relationship with her husband Earl (Matt DeAngelis). When Jenna unexpectedly becomes pregnant, she begins an affair with her gynecologist, Dr. Jim Pomatter (Steven Good). Looking for a way out, she sees a pie contest and its twenty thousand dollar grand prize as her only chance.

MCC Theater will soon present the New York premiere of the musical Alice By Heart with book by Steven Sater with Jessie Nelson; music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater, and directed by Jessie Nelson. Choreography will be by Rick and Jeff Kuperman.

Waitress announced today that Eddie Jemison, who played Ogie in the 2007 film of Waitress, will make his Broadway debut in the role beginning on February 11 and playing through April 28.

It is announced today that Waitress will partner with The Theatre Cafe, London's first ever theatre-themed coffee shop, which will be making and selling delicious fresh pies each night at the show. Audience members will be able to buy the famous Waitress pie jars in apple crumble, chocolate salted caramel or banoffee at the Adelphi Theatre when the show begins preview performances on 8 February. The Waitress pie jars were originally created by Cute As Cake of New York.

In honor of National Pie Day, the Providence Performing Arts Center and WAITRESS are pleased to announce that the Theatre will be hosting a creative pie recipe contest, in partnership with The Providence Journal and WPRI CBS 12 The Rhode Show.

WAITRESS, the Tony nominated musical will be premiering at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on Tuesday, March 26 for a limited engagement and is looking for two young girls to perform the role of "Lulu" for the duration of the engagement.

Since its 2015 premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts - a popular laboratory for some of Broadway's most recent smash hits -Waitress, with music and lyrics by the indomitably popular songstress Sara Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson, has made defying the theater community's wildest expectations look easy as pie. Somewhat quietly, Waitress has baked a more than 1100 performance run (and counting) on Broadway, spanning nearly three years, no small feat for a modern musical, particularly one that does not rely upon spectacular stage effects, grandiose chorus numbers, a well-known jukebox catalog or Disney source material. Adapted from Adrienne Shelly's 2007 film of the same name - which was by no means a box office juggernaut - the musical incarnation of Waitress has none of these things. What it does have, however, is a fantastic score, relatable and likeable (with one exception) characters, and a well-mixed blend of humor and heart.

Meet Riley and Harper, our two cute-as-pie Atlantans who were chosen to play the role of Lulu in Broadway's tour of WAITRESS for its Atlanta run at the Fox Theatre!

Waitress is opening up in the West End! The cast, led by Katharine McPhee, began rehearsals yesterday. Check out the group shot, posted to the show's Twitter page, below!

Jacksonville announces WAITRESS will play Times-Union Center for a limited one-week engagement as part of the 2018-19 Broadway in Jacksonville season, March 12-17, 2019!

Tickets for all performances of Waitress are on sale now to members of The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts. The Broadway musical comes to Worcester Wednesday May 22 - Sunday, May 26. Tickets go on sale to the public on Tuesday, January 8 at 10 am. Waitress is generously sponsored by UniBank and Worcester State University and is the final show in the theatre's 10th Anniversary Broadway Series.

As with each passing season, 2018 proved to be another exceptional year for theater not only in Souther California in general but also in Orange County---my home base. This year, the OC finally welcomed the debut of what has become this century's most awarded and most renowned stage musical ever about the Founding Father etched regally on the 10 dollar bill. Meanwhile, So. Cal. enjoyed a powerful surge of new stage works that explored Asian-American experiences, a positive step forward in the presentation of diverse voices we seldom hear from on the stage. A pair of touring musicals---both opening in the O.C. in early 2019---made such an impact in their Los Angeles engagements for me personally that I had to include them in my list, even though I have not 'officially' reviewed the productions for print. With that said, here is my 'Best of 2018' from Orange County and adjacent locales nearby---a mixture of outstanding shows and brilliant performances that made a lasting, memorable imprint in my theatergoing experience this year.