Waitress (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Waitress is a musical based on the 2007 indie movie of the same name. It was well received by critics, earning a score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes and placing number 48 for the best movie of the year. The stage rights were bought by Barry and Fran Weissler in the months following the release of the movie and announced in 2013 that a musical version was at work. On December 11, 2014,the musical was officially confirmed and a workshop was held in New York. After a short run at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the musical opened on Broadway on April 24, just before the 70th Tony Awards.

Waitress was nominated for several Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Jessie Mueller), Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Christopher Fitzgerald) and for Best Original Score (Sara Bareilles). But it never won any of those, always as Hamilton stole the show.

According to the official website, the musical follows “Jenna, a waitress and expert pie maker in a small town who 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 fresh start, while her fellow waitresses offer their own recipes for happiness. But Jenna must summon the strength and courage to rebuild her own life.”

Waitress features an original score with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles. She recorded her fifth studio album, “What’s Inside: Songs from Waitress” featuring songs from the musical, which was released on November 6, 2015. When discussing the album with The Hollywood Reporter, she said it was “impossible for [her] to imagine handing over the songs to the show before selfishly finding a way to sing them [herself].”

The show also made history for being the first ever Broadway show to have an all-female creative team