Broadway musical “Waitress” has recouped its $12 million capitalization costs, according to producers, less than 10 months after the show began previews in March.
Although “Hamilton” scored the lion’s share of press attention (and Tony Awards) in the 2015-16 season, “Waitress,” with music by Sara Bareilles, has proven a consistently strong seller. Adapted from Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 movie with a book by Jessie Nelson and direction by Diane Paulus (“Pippin,” “Porgy and Bess”), “Waitress” has a cast led by Tony winner Jessie Mueller (“Beautiful”).
With a storyline that follows a waitress and expert pie baker Jenna (Mueller) as she dreams of breaking away from an unhappy marriage, the show seems to hit a sweet spot in appealing to Broadway’s biggest demographic, older-skewing females. The musical is due to kick off a national tour at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square in October.
“Waitress” and “Hamilton” have so far been the only two musicals from the 2015-16 season to recoup. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “School of Rock” and Gloria Estefan bio-musical “On Your Feet!” also are still running.
With its capitalization costs now recouped, “Waitress” now officially moves into the black. Going forward, its revenue will count towards profit, minus weekly running costs.
