Chelsea Halfpenny to take over from Lucie Jones in Waitress tour next year

Waitress has confirmed plans for its leading ladies beginning next year.

Lucie Jones, currently playing the role of Jenna on the hit musical's first UK and Ireland tour, will now complete her time with the show on 4 December 2021 at Regent's Theatre in Stoke, with Chelsea Halfpenny (Emmerdale, 9 to 5 the Musical) beginning her tenure as Jenna from 10 January 2022. Jones will be leaving the production to move on to a soon to be announced new project.

Halfpenny will join Sandra Marvin as Becky, Evelyn Hoskins as Dawn and Busted's Matt Willis as Dr Pomatter, with Marvin, Hoskins and Willis' roles confirmed until 12 February 2022 (casting after this is to be confirmed).

They are being joined by George Crawford as Ogie, Michael Starke as Joe, Tamlyn Henderson as Earl and Christopher D Hunt as Cal. The company also includes Monique Ashe-Palmer, Amelia Atherton, Donal Brennan, Aimée Fisher, Scarlet Gabriel, Nathanael Landskroner, Charlie Martin, Liam McHugh, Olivia Mitchell, Ben Morris and Brian Roland.

The show has music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, book by Jessie Nelson, direction by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus, choreography by Lorin Latarro, set by Scott Pask, lighting by Christopher Akerlind, sound by Jonathan Deans, and musical supervision and arrangements by Nadia DiGiallonardo. Further creatives are to be revealed by the production. Based on the film of the same name, it follows a young waitress in a diner who dreams of leaving her job and forging a life of her own.

Continuing to run at the moment, the show is heading to Eastbourne, Sunderland, Brighton, Manchester, Aberdeen, Stoke, Northampton, Edinburgh, Leicester, Hull, Bristol, Bromley, Belfast, Newcastle, Woking, Plymouth, Llandudno, Inverness, Glashow, Oxford, Liverpool Empire, Birmingham, Southampton, Cardiff, Dublin, Woverlahmpton, Dartford, Torquay, Nottingham, Bradford, Canterbury, Southend and Norwich.

Tickets for select dates, including Jones' final performances, are on sale below.