It’s been announced today that Waitress will be “Opening Up” in the West End from February next year. It’s playing at the Adelphi, which isn’t my favourite as my seat is right at the back of stalls there and as I love the music and story so much I just would’ve liked to be closer, but am still so excited all the same!

Based on the 2007 film of the same name by Adrienne Shelly, Waitress follows Jenna Hunterson, a young woman who possess incredible talent as a pie baker. Dragged down by an abusive husband, she is looking for a way to turn her life around… for herself and her new baby.

With music by Sara Bareilles and the wonderful rarity of a female core creative team, Waitress had its premiere in 2015 in Cambridge Massachusetts, before transferring to Broadway the following year, and 2017 saw it embark on a U.S. tour!

Though we’ve a while to wait until it hits the West End, amid all the anticipation and given my love for the show, I figured it was about time I did another of my dream cast instalments, just for a bit of fun!

Jenna – Joanna Woodward

For the leading role, this for me is the easiest decision of this entire blog. Joanna first came into my life in 2014, as part of the ensemble cast of Fings Ain’t Wot They Used To Be, and a year later, she cemented her position as one of my favourite leading ladies. At that time, she was the alternate Carole King in Beautiful. The first time I saw the show was with Joanna in the role, and I was blown away by the warmth, grace and sensitivity she brought to the character, and astounded by how such a powerful voice came out of her small stature! I loved her in the part so much I often booked especially to see her, she ended up being my Carole on all but two occasions.

I’ve also had the joy of seeing her as Mary in The Life at Southwark Playhouse last year, which was brilliant as it was a total contrast to the kind of role I knew her for – strong and sassy!

The minute I had finished listening to Waitress for the first time, my mind floated to Joanna immediately should we be lucky enough to get a transfer, and I stand by that whoheartedly. I think she’d be perfect and bring a beautiful depth and nuance to Jenna’s journey – the thought of her singing She Used To Be Mine is enough to give me chills!

Dr Pomatter – Nadeem Crowe

This proved more difficult, in the end I went for a wonderfully talented chap who I’d love to see more of!

Last seen as Karim in new musical Broken Wings, Nadeem first came into my life thanks to School of Rock, where he played Doug and Mr Spencer. In the latter role, he showed off a wonderful knack for comedy and I know that Dr Pomatter does have a really funny, playful side that Nadeem could pull off with real ease. That being said, I’d love to see him play the more serious side of the character and think he has warmth and likeability in spades! He and Jenna embark on an affair and their two musical numbers Bad Idea and You Matter to Me play with both of these dynamics. With credits that span West Side Story, The Last Five Years and Sunset Boulevard, I’ve no doubt he’d be a great fit for the role with a really warm, rich powerful vocal.

Fun fact – he’s also a qualified doctor aside from treading the boards!

Earl Hunterson – David Thaxton

As I am with most of my favourite actors and actresses, I was incredibly late to the party when it came to discovering David! I’ve seen him in three musicals so far (Only the Brave, JCS and most recently as Javert in Les Mis.) Each and every time I am blown away by his incredible presence and intensity, and I’d love to see him bring that quality to a character as unlikeable as Earl! Hand the man a guitar and his rendition of You Will Still Be Mine promises to be an absolute belter…

Dawn Williams – Rebecca Trehearn

I last saw Rebecca in City of Angels at the Donmar Warehouse in 2015, and adored her rendition of You Can Always Count On Me, where she brought real fun and sass to the characters she played. I’d like to see her play a fun role like that again, which is why I’ve put her as my Dawn – a friend of Jenna’s and fellow waitress. Dawn is loveable and anxious, and as a sweet sidestory to Jenna’s arc, finds romance of her own. Initially against the whole idea of online dating, she sings a brilliant song called When He Sees Me, where she hilariously lists all the things that might go wrong with her date, but actually is more nervous about what happens should it go well. That just speaks to me on so many levels, and I’ve no doubt Rebecca would shine!

Ogie – Gavin Alex

Currently over at Tina: The Musical, Gavin, like Joanna came into my life through Beautiful. He’d always crack me up when he appeared as Neil Sedaka, and that’s why I would love to see him flex his comedy muscles again as Ogie, Dawn’s love interest. Ogie turns up after their date, with a very different idea of how it went, and proceeds to sing Never Ever Gettin’ Rid of Me. He’s intense, but seems to only want to get know Dawn more as he’s smitten by her – I think Gavin would do a cracking job of this and Ogie’s other number: Love You Like a Table… I’m sure my face would ache from laughing so much!

Becky – Sandra Marvin

I adore Sandra Marvin and think she’d be an awesome fit for Becky, Jenna’s other friend. Having only ever seen her in concerts and the ensemble of City of Angels, I’d love to see her in a bigger role. Becky is strong and sassy, which I know from experience Sandra is, and having already taken on the likes of Queenie in Showboat, and Maybelle in Hairspray – her take on I Didn’t Plan It would blow everyone’s minds.

Twitter’s exploded with excitement over this announcement, and I can sense I’ll be spending a lot of time over at the Adelphi this coming spring, whoever is cast!

As always, keep in touch @wheeliestagey or over on Facebook!