Katharine McPhee will make her West End debut starring as Jenna in the UK premiere of Waitress, having played the role on Broadway earlier this year. The Tony Award-nominated musical will begin preview performances on 8 February 2019 ahead of its official opening night on 7 March at London’s Adelphi Theatre. Currently playing its third year on Broadway, Waitress will bring with it an all-female lead creative team – a West End musical first.
Since finding international fame as a singer on American Idol – Season 5, McPhee has become a successful recording artist, landing numerous songs and albums on Billboard’s pop, jazz, holiday and adult-contemporary charts in her native US. As an actress, she was the breakout star of the 2013 NBC-TV musical series Smash. She recently starred in the hit CBS dramatic series Scorpion.
Waitress opened on 24 April 2016 at Broadway’s Brooks Atkinson Theater. Based on the 2007 motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly, it was the first Broadway musical in history to have four women in the four top creative team spots, with a book by Jessie Nelson, a score by six-time Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, choreography by Lorin Latarro and direction by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus. The production is currently touring the US and has also recently announced it will have its Australian premiere in 2020 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.
Jenna, an expert pie maker in a small town, dreams of a way out of her loveless marriage. A baking contest in a nearby county and the town’s new doctor may offer her a chance at a new life, while her fellow waitresses offer their own recipes to happiness. But Jenna must find the courage and strength within herself to rebuild her life.
On its Broadway opening, Waitress was nominated for four Outer Critics’ Circle Awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical; two Drama League Award nominations, including Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical; six Drama Desk nominations, including Outstanding Musical; and four Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical.
