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Sara Bareilles is supporting the girls!
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the singer-songwriter, 45, names her favorite leading ladies who have stepped into the role of Jenna in the hit Broadway musical Waitress.
When the show was playing on Broadway, it notably cycled through the theater industry’s top talent, bringing in newcomers, Hollywood stars and stage veterans. Bareilles, who wrote the music and lyrics for the musical, even did multiple runs as the lead pie maker Jenna.
Asked to name her favorite Jennas, Bareilles says, “I could go on and on. There are so many. Nicolette Robinson is the first one that comes to mind. I just think she’s a really beautiful actress and she played the role with a kind of simplicity that really, really struck me.”
She continues, “I love Shoshana [Bean]. Of course, Jessie Mueller is an astounding talent, and she created the role. She was our original Jenna. I watched her play this role hundreds of times, and I just think she’s absolutely incredible.”
The actress adds, “You can’t go wrong!”
As a crucial part of the creation of the musical, Bareilles notes that she has “watched so many” different performances of the show that left her impressed. “Alison Luff, Jordin Sparks,” she continued to name. “There are so many – Kat McPhee!”
“We’ve had an absolute bevy of incredible women come into this role,” the actress says. “And now the license for the musical has broadened. Regional theaters can do this show and it’s very exciting to see new productions of this show come up. I’m so thrilled. We’ve got our show in Mexico City that’s happening now, so it’s coming in Spanish, which is really exciting too.”
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In addition to the aforementioned Mexico City production, Waitress made its anticipated streaming debut on Max on Friday, Feb. 14.
The musical, written by Jessie Nelson and adapted from Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 movie, follows waitress and pie maker Jenna Hunterson as she enters a baking contest in hopes of winning the large cash prize, which would allow her to escape her loveless marriage. When the baker finds out that she’s pregnant, she enters a secret romance with her gynecologist Dr. James “Jim” Pomatter and grows closer to her two coworkers.
Tony Award winner Diane Paulus directed the musical for the stage. It opened on Broadway in 2016 with a starry cast that featured Jessie Mueller as Jenna, Drew Gehling as Dr. Pomatter, and Keala Settle, Kimiko Glenn, Christopher Fitzgerald and the late Nick Cordero in the ensemble.
The movie cast, however, stars Bareilles as Jenna, as well as Charity Angél Dawson, Caitlin Houlahan, Gehling, Dakin Matthews, Eric Anderson, Joe Tippett and Christopher Fitzgerald.
Bareilles first stepped into the role of Jenna for a limited engagement on Broadway in 2017 and then returned in 2018 and 2019. The Grammy winner made her West End debut as a replacement in the role in London in January 2020 with the late Gavin Creel, and then reprised the character in its 2021 Broadway re-staging to celebrate the theaters reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The movie was captured during the restaging by director Brett Sullivan, and made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2023 followed by a limited theatrical release that December.
Speaking of the musical finally coming to the small screen, Bareilles told PEOPLE that the long-winded process has been a “labor of love.”
“This movie, this musical, just the whole journey of this piece has been a remarkable experience,” said Bareilles. “What I love is that after all this time, we’ve ended up where we’re supposed to be. We were always just like the little engine that could.”
Waitress: The Musical is streaming now.
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