Sara Bareilles opens up about her Broadway musical ‘Waitress’ coming to movie theaters

Sugar, butter, popcorn! The Broadway hit Waitress: The Musical is now available to watch in movie theaters nationwide for a limited engagement December 7 through December 11.

The show’s composer, lyricist and star Sara Bareilles told ABC Audio it’s great that the musical, which is based on the eponymous 2007 film starring Keri Russell, is now accessible to so many more people.

“The pandemic became another catalyst for realizing that, you know, the world is shifting, and people’s means don’t always make room for trips to New York City and seeing theater shows,” Bareilles said.

Bareilles said the show, which follows the journey of small-town diner employee Jenna, is about so much more than pie – though there is plenty of that, too.

“Ultimately this show is about resiliency and the journey to love yourself,” Bareilles said. “To choose to love yourself in spite of hardship, in spite of [a] broken relationship, in spite of bad choices.”

Along the way, Jenna makes mistakes on her road to happiness. Bareilles said this only makes her more human.

“I just don’t know people in real life who fall into these categories of, like, hero and villain. I think we all exist somewhere in between,” Bareilles said. “Waitress does a really good job of holding the balance between darkness and light and letting it kind of swim in the gray matter.”

In fact, Bareilles said the show draws you in with its humor. For example, there’s a recurring gag where Jenna gives her original pie recipes funny names. Bareilles said that she, like Jenna, is definitely a pie person.

“There’s sort of, like, pie and then cake people, you know. And we don’t mix,” Bareilles said. “I have always been a pie person. I continue to be a pie person.” 

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