''Waitress'' (also known by its promotional title ''Waitress: The Musical'') is a 2023 American musical

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film of the

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

, which premiered in 2015. It was recorded live at a 2.5 hour long performance of the stage musical. The 2007 film ''Waitress'' upon which the stage musical was in turn based, was written and directed by

Adrienne Shelly Adrienne Shelly ( Levine; June 24, 1966 – November 1, 2006) was an American actress, film director, and screenwriter. She gained recognition for her roles in independent films, particularly Hal Hartley's '' The Unbelievable Truth'' (1989) and ...

. With music and lyrics by

Sara Bareilles Sara Beth Bareilles ( ; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. Bareilles has earned various accolades, including ...

and a book by Jessie Nelson, the musical explores themes of female empowerment, personal transformation, and resilience, through the story of Jenna, a small-town waitress and expert pie baker who seeks to escape her unhappy marriage to an abusive husband. The film was produced in 2021 during its limited run at the

Ethel Barrymore Theatre The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 243 West 47th Street (Manhattan), 47th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1928, it ...

in New York City. The film features the cast of this remounting, including Bareilles (who also serves as a producer), Charity Angél Dawson, Caitlin Houlahan,

Drew Gehling Andrew Shearer Gehling (born October 16, 1982) is an American stage and screen actor, best known for his role as Dr. Pomatter in the Broadway musical ''Waitress'', Garry Marshall's ''Billy & Ray'', and as the voice of Gord in the 2006 video game ' ...

Dakin Matthews Melvin Richard "Dakin" Matthews (born November 7, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and theatrical scholar. He is best known as Herb Kelcher in '' My Two Dads'' (1987–1989), Hanlin Charleston in '' Gilmore Girls'' (2000 ...

, Eric Anderson, Joe Tippett, and Christopher Fitzgerald.

Diane Paulus Diane Marie Paulus (born 1966) is an American theater and opera director who is currently the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University.Colleen Walsh"Paulus reaches beyond boards" ''Harvar ...

directed the production, with Brett Sullivan directing the live filming and Nelson serving as a creative advisor. It premiered at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

on June 12, 2023, was theatrically released by

Bleecker Street Bleecker Street is an east–west street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightlife, nightclub district. The street connects a neighborhood popular today for music venues and comedy as well as a ...

in the United States on December 7, 2023, and received positive reviews from critics.

Background

After a tryout at the

American Repertory Theater The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, Massachusetts, in August 2015, the musical ''Waitress'' premiered at the

Brooks Atkinson Theatre The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1926, it was desi ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in April 2016, closing in January 2020, with direction by

and starring

Jessie Mueller Jessica Ruth Mueller (born February 20, 1983) is an American actress and singer. She started her acting career in Chicago and won two Joseph Jefferson Awards in 2008 and 2011 for her roles as Carrie Pipperidge in ''Carousel'' and Amalia Balash i ...

as Jenna; during the run,

was a replacement player as Jenna. In March 2020, the Broadway theater district shut down, remaining closed for a year and a half due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Producer Barry Weissler announced that a remount of the original production, starring Bareilles, would play following the reopening of Broadway theaters. The show returned in a limited engagement on September 2, 2021, at the

, making it the first musical on Broadway to begin performances following the COVID-19 shutdown. The primary reason for its return was to film the production for a future public release. Several of the cast members from the original Broadway run starred in the production, including Bareilles as Jenna,

as Dr. Pomatter, Joe Tippett as Earl, Charity Angél Dawson as Becky, Caitlin Houlahan as Dawn,

as Joe, Christopher Fitzgerald as Ogie, and Eric Anderson as Cal; Paulus returned to direct the production. Brett Sullivan directed the filming, with his company, Steam Motion and Sound, producing the film. Nelson served as a film creative advisor. The run concluded on December 22, 2021, two weeks earlier than planned due to a spike of COVID-19.

Plot

Cast

Musical numbers

Act I * "What's Inside" – Jenna and Ensemble * "Opening Up" – Jenna, Becky, Dawn, Cal and Company * "The Negative" – Becky, Dawn and Jenna * "What Baking Can Do" – Jenna and Ensemble * "Club Knocked Up" – Female Ensemble * "Pomatter Pie" – Band * "When He Sees Me" – Dawn * "It Only Takes a Taste" – Dr. Jim Pomatter and Jenna * "You Will Still Be Mine" – Earl and Jenna * "A Soft Place to Land" – Jenna, Becky and Dawn * "Never Ever Getting Rid of Me" – Ogie and Ensemble * "Bad Idea" – Jenna, Dr. Pomatter and Ensemble Act II * "I Didn't Plan It" – Becky * "Bad Idea" (Reprise) – Jenna, Dr. Pomatter, Becky, Cal, Dawn, Ogie and Ensemble * "You Matter to Me" – Dr. Pomatter and Jenna * "I Love You Like a Table" – Ogie, Dawn and Ensemble * "Take It From an Old Man" – Joe and Ensemble * " She Used to Be Mine" – Jenna * "Contraction Ballet" – Jenna and Company * "What's Inside (Reprise)" – Company * "Everything Changes" – Jenna, Becky, Dawn and Company * "Opening Up" (Finale) – Company End credits * "A Soft Place to Land" (Instrumental) – The Waitress Band * "Down at the Diner" – Sara Bareilles

Release

The film premiered in the Spotlight+ section of the

in New York City on June 12, 2023, followed by a post-screening musical performance by Bareilles. Simultaneously, it was broadcast with sound through the

TSX The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; ) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the List of stock exchanges, 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in th ...

app onto TSX Entertainment's 18,000-square-foot digital screen overlooking

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

, including the broadcast of an introduction by Bareilles. In September 2023,

acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, partnering with

Fathom Events Fathom Events is an entertainment content provider that broadcasts entertainment events in movie theaters throughout the United States, including Metropolitan Opera Live in HD, the performing arts, major sporting events, and music concerts. The ...

for its theatrical release. It was theatrically released in the United States on December 7, 2023. The film's theatrical run lasted until December 21. The film was released on digital platforms and

Video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

on January 9, 2024, and on

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on February 6, 2024, by

Decal A decal (, , ) or transfer is a plastic, cloth, paper, or ceramic substrate that has printed on it a pattern or image that can be moved to another surface upon contact, usually with the aid of heat or water. The word is short for '' decalc ...

. It became available for streaming on

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

in February 2025

Reception

Bareilles's performance as Jenna was praised for its depth and vulnerability, and the film was admired for maintaining the stage show’s theatrical energy while making smart cinematic choices in its filming.

Box office

The film grossed an estimated $3.2 million during its opening weekend from 1,214 theaters, finishing eighth. The movie made $5.4 million domestically and about $689,000 elsewhere. Worldwide, the film made more than $6 million.

References

External links

* * {{Jessie Nelson 2023 films 2020s musical comedy-drama films American musical comedy-drama films Bleecker Street films FilmNation Entertainment films Films based on musicals Films based on musicals based on films Films directed by Jessie Nelson Filmed stage productions Films set in restaurants Films shot in New York City Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performing arts 2023 comedy-drama films 2020s English-language films 2020s American films Works by Sara Bareilles English-language musical comedy-drama films 2023 musical films 2020s feminist films American feminist films American pregnancy films 2020s pregnancy films Films about adultery in the United States