Sara Bareilles‘ acclaimed Broadway musical Waitress is to close in January (20).
Producers Barry and Fran Weissler announced the news on Tuesday (16Jul19), revealing the curtain will fall on the Brooks Atkinson Theatre show for the final time on 5 January.
Reflecting on the news, Bareilles, who wrote the music and lyrics for the production and made her Broadway debut in the show tells The Hollywood Reporter, "It’s like one part gut-punch and one part incredible gratitude. It’s an overwhelming amount of nostalgia and reflection and just taking it all in. It feels like this magical thing happened.
"The show has such a big life, it’s so beautiful and far beyond what I was anticipating. I think I was hopeful that we’d have what I would describe as a fatted-calf first year on Broadway. But to have celebrated three years and now turned the corner into our fourth, it’s just miraculous. So much gratitude for our company, our cast, and our amazing fans that have kept us happy and healthy. We’re just so lucky."
Based on the 2007 film of the same name, the production premiered at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts in August, 2015, and made its Broadway debut at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in April, 2016. A U.S. national tour began in October, 2017, and the musical transferred to London's West End earlier this year, with Katharine McPhee as the lead.
As well as Bareilles and McPhee, Jason Mraz, Joey McIntyre, and Glee star Jenna Ushkowitz have graced the stage in the musical.
