Theatre News

Waitress film with Sara Bareilles to be screened for free in Times Square

Will a UK release be unveiled at some point soon?

| New York |

2 June 2023

It has been confirmed that the filmed version of Waitress will be broadcast in Time Square.

As already announced, the captured performance has been included in the line-up for the 2023 Tribeca Festival, which runs from 7 to 18 June in New York City.

Filmed at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in 2021, where the show made its home temporarily post-pandemic, the production was led by the hit musical’s creator Sara Bareilles as Jenna, alongside Drew Gehling as Dr Pomatter, Charity Angél Dawson as Becky, Caitlin Houlahan as Dawn, Christopher Fitzgerald as Ogie, Eric Anderson as Cal, Dakin Matthews as Joe, and Joe Tippett as Earl.

According to reports, there had originally been plans to film the West End production in 2020 (when Bareilles was starring in it here) but these were shelved by the pandemic.

On top of its Tribeca premiere, the film will be shown for free to 300 attendees on TSX Entertainment’s 18,000-square-foot digital screen on 12 June in New York. Sound for the broadcast available for viewers through the TSX mobile app.

The musical has book by Jessie Nelson, direction by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus and choreography by Lorin Latarro. 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.