The musical “Waitress” may have closed on Broadway in January 2020 but it’s coming back — with Sara Bareilles leading the way

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer

July 7, 2021, 1:01 PM

• 2 min read

NEW YORK -- The musical “Waitress” may have closed on Broadway in January 2020 after a long natural life but it's coming back after the pandemic — with Sara Bareilles leading the way.

The singer-songwriter of “Brave” and “Love Song” will star in a resurrection of the musical, playing the lead role of Jenna Hunterson. She’ll be in the show when it restarts at it's new home in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre from Sept. 2 through Oct. 17.

"Broadway is grit and grace, magic and mayhem, and I can’t wait to feel the electricity that pulses through all of us as the curtains rise once again,” Bareilles said in a statement Wednesday.

The musical tells the story of a waitress and pie maker trapped in a small-town diner and a loveless marriage. It’s adapted from a 2007 film starring Keri Russell.

Bareilles has already released her versions of the musical’s songs in “What’s Inside: Songs From Waitress,” including the standout single “She Used to Be Mine.” She's widened her fan base by appearing in the comedy TV series "Girls5eva" during the pandemic.

Bareilles did three stints in the show during its four years on Broadway that ended a few months before the pandemic hit. She joins other composers who have gone into their own Broadway shows, including Sting in “The Last Ship” and Green Day’s frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who made several onstage visits to his show “American Idiot.”

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Mark Kennedy is on Twitter as KennedyTwits

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