Filling Their Shoes: Betsy Wolfe Explains the Art of the Broadway Replacement

Betsy Wolfe was last seen on Broadway in the critically acclaimed revival of Falsettos playing Cordelia. Other Broadway includes Bullets Over Broadway by Woody Allen, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture with Sherie Rene Scott, 110 in the Shade, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Wonderful Life. Wolfe played Cathy Hyatt in the Second Stage revival of The Last Five Years, Beth in Encores' Merrily We Roll Along, and premiered Up Here, a new musical by Bobby Lopez and Kristen Andrerson-Lopez at La Jolla Playhouse.

She has returned to Broadway once again, playing Jenna in Waitress. After seeing both Jessie Mueller and Sara Bareilles take on the role, Wolfe told BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge how and why she made the role her own, saying, "They are brilliant! And they were brilliant in their own way. But that's why you love it, because they are giving you such an essence of them. So I think you would do this show an extreme disservice to try to emulate someone else."

"I get asked a lot 'How can you follow in these footsteps?' And you can't really think about that! It just has to be you, and the more that I realized that's what I'm paid to do, to bring an essence of Betsy Wolfe to this role and what makes me tick. And when I leave and someone else does it, I know that's their responsibility too. That's what we owe this role and this story."

Waitress tells the story of Jenna, an expert pie maker in a small town, who dreams of a way out of her loveless marriage with her husband Earl. A baking contest in a nearby county and the town's new doctor may offer her a chance at a new life, while her fellow Waitresses offer their own recipes to happiness. But Jenna must find the courage and strength within herself to rebuild her life. This new American musical celebrates friendship, motherhood, and the magic of a well-made pie.

Check out our full interview with Betsy Wolfe here.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos