Jodi Picoult and Lorin Latarro to Lead Talkback at WAITRESS For Women's History Month

The producers of Broadway's Waitress announced that following the performance on Tuesday, March 6 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult will join Waitress choreographer Lorin Latarro in conversation at a talkback to kick off the hit musical's month-long campaign celebrating Women's History Month.

Beginning with Jodi Picoult on March 6, the production will host notable women at post-show talkbacks in the theatre each week in March. The discussions will explore topics connecting the notable achievements of the guest panelists and the themes of this ground-breaking production.

Jodi Picoult is the #1 bestselling author of twenty-four novels including My Sister's Keeper, Nineteen Minutes, The Storyteller, Leaving Time, and her most recent, the acclaimed #1 bestseller, Small Great Things, which explored the issues of power, privilege and race, and was called "the most important novel Picoult has ever written" (Washington Post). The novel has sold over a million copies since its publication in October 2016. Picoult's books have been translated into thirty-four languages in thirty-five countries. Four novels - The Pact, Plain Truth, The Tenth Circle, and Salem Falls - have been made into television movies. My Sister's Keeper was a film released from New Line Cinema, with Nick Cassavetes directing and Cameron Diaz starring. Small Great Things has been optioned for motion picture adaptation by Amblin Entertainment and is set to star Viola Davis and Julia Roberts. Picoult's two Young Adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page, co-written with her daughter Samantha Van Leer, have been adapted and developed by the authors into a musical entitled Between the Lines, which had its world premiere in September 2017 at the Kansas City Repertory Theater. Picoult is the recipient of many awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the Alex Award from the YALSA, a lifetime achievement award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America, and the NH Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit. She holds honorary doctor of letters degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of New Haven. She is also a member of the advisory board for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. Picoult lives in New Hampshire with her husband. They have three children.

Lorin Latarro recently choreographed Broadway's Waitress, Les Liaisons Dangereuses with Janet McTeer and Liev Schreiber, and Waiting for Godot with Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, and she is the Associate Choreographer of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and American Idiot. Her additional choreography includes Chess (The Kennedy Center); Lin-Manuel Miranda's 21 Chump Street for "This American Life" (Brooklyn Academy Of Music); The Public Theater's Twelfth Night and The Odyssey (Delacorte Theater); Queen of the Night (Diamond Horseshoe); Assassins; God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater; and Fanny (City Center Encores!); Between the Lines (Kansas City Repertory Theatre); Beaches (Drury Lane Theatre) and A Christmas Carol (McCarter Theatre Center). Ms. Latarro is a Bucks County Playhouse Artistic Associate and a Juilliard School graduate. Her upcoming work includes Heart of Rock and Roll at Old Globe and La Traviata at The Metropolitan Opera. lorinlatarro.com

As the first Broadway musical with an all-female creative team, Waitress will celebrate women throughout March through a variety of other efforts, including educational social campaigns and fundraising efforts benefitting the National Women's History Museum in Washington, D.C. (www.womenshistory.org). Bids will be accepted through a Prizeo campaign to benefit the museum through the end of the month. Additionally, the show's in-house pie concession will feature a Lemon Empowerment Pie for the month and portion of those proceeds will benefit the museum as well.

Tickets are available by calling Ticketmaster at 877-250-2929, online at Ticketmaster.com, or at the Brooks Atkinson box office.

Waitress tells the story of Jenna, an expert pie maker in a small town, who dreams of a way out of her loveless marriage. 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 American musical celebrates friendship, motherhood, and the magic of a well-made pie.

Waitress opened April 24, 2016 at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 West 47th Street). Based upon the 2007 motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly, Waitress is the first Broadway musical in history to have four women in the four top creative team spots, with a book by Jessie Nelson, a score by six-time Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, choreography by Lorin Latarro and direction by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus.

Waitress is now in its second smash year on Broadway and on a national tour. Tickets for the Broadway production are available at Ticketmaster at 877-250-2929, online at Ticketmaster.com or at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre box office, 256 West 47th Street.

Waitress is produced on Broadway by Barry and Fran Weissler and Norton and Elayne Herrick.

Founded in 1996, the National Women's History, a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has researched, collected and exhibited the contributions of women to the social, cultural, economic and political life of our nation in the context of our collective history. The Museum uses innovative and engaging means including an interactive website, online and physical exhibits, educational programs, live presentations, social media and other outreach efforts to communicate the breadth of American women's experiences and accomplishments to reach the widest possible audience. Through these efforts and its future physical presence, the Museum serves as a guiding light to inspire people regardless of gender, class, race or culture to move into the future with respect, equal confidence, greater partnership and opportunity. For additional information visit www.WomensHistory.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.