Waitress and Hadestown

‘Waitress’ and ‘Hadestown’ restart performances tonight, as first Broadway musicals to reopen

The shows will start performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and the Walter Kerr Theatre.

Gillian Russo
Gillian Russo

Opening up! Two Broadway musicals will restart performances tonight: Waitress, starring the show's composer/lyricist Sara Bareilles in the leading role of Jenna, and Hadestown, featuring Tony winner André De Shields and more members of the original cast. The shows are the first musicals to restart performances on Broadway in 2021.

Waitress opened on Broadway in 2016 and played at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre until closing in January 2020. The show follows Jenna, a waitress at a local diner, dealing with an unexpected pregnancy and an uncaring husband. She hopes to use her baking skills to build a better life for herself. The 2016 New York Theatre Guide review of Waitress reads: "That is where the bravery of this show lies: in the tale of a woman who is living her life by putting one foot in front of the other every day. She has dreams. In this show a dream does not make you delusional. A dream is a soft place to land."

Now, the new production of Waitress will play at the Barrymore Theatre until January 9, 2022. It features many members of the original cast, including Christopher Fitzgerald as Ogie, Drew Gehling as Dr. Pomatter, Eric Anderson as Cal, and Dakin Matthews as Joe.

Bareilles will play Jenna until October 17. It will mark the fifth time Bareilles, who wrote the show's score, will step into the leading role. She has starred in Waitress for four limited engagements on Broadway and one on London's West End. Waitress tickets are on sale now.

Also reopening tonight is Hadestown, which was playing at the time of the March 2020 shutdown. It is the first show that went on pause that day to restart performances. The musical opened to acclaim in spring 2019, winning eight Tony Awards that year including Best Musical. The New York Theatre Guide review reads, "Going to hell has never been as much fun as seeing a performance of Anaïs Mitchell's musical Hadestown."

The musical weaves together the Greek myths of Orpheus and Eurydice and of Hades and Persephone and sets it all in an industrialized reimagining of the underworld called Hadestown. The messenger god Hermes, played by André De Shields who won the Tony Award for his performance, guides the audience through the underworld as much as Orpheus, who ventures there to rescue Eurydice.

Four principal cast members performing at the time of the shutdown are returning to their roles: De Shields, Reeve Carney as Orpheus, Eva Noblezada as Eurydice, and Amber Gray as Persephone. Tom Hewitt will assume the role of Hades; original cast member Patrick Page will return to the role beginning November 2.

Hadestown is playing at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Check back for information on when Hadestown tickets will be on sale.

For all performances of both shows from September 2 through October 31, all cast, crew, theatre staff, and audience members must be fully vaccinated. Audiences must present proof of vaccination at the door. Find out more about vaccine requirements on Broadway.

Originally published on

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