Original West End cast of Waitress at the Adelphi Theatre. Image by Johan Persson

Words by Frannie Walton

Just six months after Waitress closes on Broadway, the pie shop across the pond will have to shut its doors for the last time. The show opened on the West End at the Adelphi Theatre in February of this year, with Katharine Foster (then McPhee) as Jenna and David Hunter as Dr Pomatter. After Katharine left the West End production in June, she returned to the show to close out its run on Broadway. Lucie Jones has played Jenna since then at the Adelphi Theatre.

However, it has since been announced that Sara Bareilles, who wrote the lyrics and music for the show and has played Jenna twice before on Broadway. Gavin Creel, the Olivier- and Tony-Award winning actor will join her as Dr Pomatter, currently played by David Hunter. The two were previously Jenna and Pomatter on Broadway from January 7th to February 3rd of this year. The actors will be performing for 6 weeks, from January 27th to March 6th, at which point Jones and Hunter will take back over the roles to close the show.

We are all so sad to see this production go, especially so soon after it’s closing on Broadway. You can still see this heartfelt show at the Adelphi Theatre through July 4th, 2020, and the 2nd national, non-equity tour has launched in the U.S., as well as future productions planned for Australia and The Netherlands, both set to start next year. If any of those places are near you, be sure to stop in and see the piece of magical theatre before it’s too late!