Stage and Screen: Waitress: The Musical (2023)
Director: Brett Sullivan, Diane Paulus Run Time: 144 min. Release Year: 2023
Starring: Caitlin Houlahan, Charity Dawon, Dakin Matthews, Drew Gehling, Sara Bareilles
Country: United States
Language: English
About the film:
Waitress: The Musical (2023) brings the Tony-nominated Broadway phenomenon to the big screen. Featuring composer-lyricist Sara Bareilles as Jenna Hunterson, a waitress and expert pie maker stuck in a small town and a loveless marriage. When a baking contest in a nearby county offers her a chance at escape, Jenna fights to reclaim a long-forgotten part of herself. Through the support of her fellow waitresses and an unexpected romance, Jenna begins to find the courage to take a long-abandoned dream off the shelf. Waitress celebrates the power of friendship, dreams, the family we choose and the beauty of a well-baked pie.
About the filmmakers:
Brett Sullivan is a London-based Australian filmmaker. He has directed and produced feature films of live theatrical productions in the West End, Broadway, Canada, Germany and Australia, including Billy Elliot (2014), Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary (2016), Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical! (2017), Kinky Boots: The Musical (2019), The Prince of Egypt: Live from the West End (2023), and Waitress: The Musical (2023). He has also worked on music videos and documentaries for Phil Collins, Michael Bublé, Natalie Merchant, James Blunt, and numerous other artists, as well as international music campaigns for Madonna, REM, Linkin Park, Flaming Lips, Alicia Keys, and many others.
Diane Paulus is an American theatre and opera director and currently serves as the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. Among other work, she directed the 2013 revival of Pippin, which was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won four, including the award for best revival of a musical. She previously received Tony nominations for her direction of the revivals of Hair and The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. She also directed the new musicals Waitress, based on the 2007 film of the same name, and Jagged Little Pill, based on the Grammy Award-winning 1995 album by Alanis Morissette.
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