Waitress revival ‘on the horizon’ says Sara Bareilles

It has been almost ten years since we were first introduced to the stage version of Waitress.

Based on a screenplay by Adrienne Shelly, the musical, by Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson, follows small-town baker Jenna, and the people who help her realise her dream.

Not seen on these shores since a UK tour (which starred Lucie Jones and then Chelsea Halfpenny) – we couldn’t resist asking Bareilles about a revival in the UK.

“I think that’s what’s so exciting about this show,” the composer starts, “A revival is on the horizon.”

However, she confesses that with its soft glow and old-school Americana touch, “It’s almost hard to imagine the musical another way.”

She ponders: “It’s exciting to imagine what another creative team’s take would be. What does their world-building look and feel like?”

The work of the original creative team is a recipe for success. The backlit dreamlike diner has been forever captured in a pro shot, now available to stream on National Theatre at Home.

“I love what we created, it’s so vibrant and colourful,” Bareilles smiles, stirring her hot drink and cradling it – cosy in her New York apartment as snow falls outside the window, “It’s like comfort food.”

Like the line she penned for Jenna. It’s a soft place to land. To reimagine it, she suggests, “You could lean into the realism of that sentiment.

“Or I think you could go the other direction and make it even more impressionistic. What’s beautiful about the story is that it is really sturdy. Pretty facile. It could probably live in a lot of different iterations and still pack a punch.”

Together we joke about the idea of a very British Waitress, set in a greasy spoon cafe and serving meat pies. But with Bareilles’ music, we still think it’d be pretty sweet.

Bareilles opened up about life, loss, and looking at what’s inside—read our full interview here.