MSNBC's Joy-Ann Reid and Director Diane Paulus Lead Next Women's History Month Event at WAITRESS

Broadway's smash musical Waitress continues to celebrate Women's History Month when MSNBC TV's popular host Joy-Ann Reid speaks to Tony Award winning director Diane Paulus following the Thursday March 22 performance at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 West 47th St).

This is the second talkback in the hit musical's month-long campaign celebrating Women's History Month. The first one featured bestselling author Jodi Picoult and Waitress choreographer Lorin Latarro. The show will continue to 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.

JOY-ANN REID is a political analyst at MSNBC and host of "AM Joy," which airs Saturdays and Sundays from 10 A.M. ET to noon ET. She is the author of the book Fracture: Barack Obama, the Clintons and the Racial Divide (William Morrow/Harper Collins 2015), the co-editor, with Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, of We Are the Change We Seek: The Speeches of Barack Obama (Bloomsbury, 2016) and a columnist for The Daily Beast. Her columns and articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, the Miami Herald, New York Magazine and other publications. She currently teaches a course in "race, gender and media" at Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications' New York City annex. Reid is the former managing editor of TheGrio.com, a site exploring issues of importance to African-Americans, and the former host of The Reid Report, a daily news program on MSNBC. She has previously worked in local TV news, as a talk radio producer and host, and in politics as a Florida press secretary for America Coming Together (2004) and a Florida press aide for the Barack Obama campaign (2008). Reid graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in film in 1991. She and her husband Jason own a documentary film Production Company. They reside in Brooklyn with their three children.

Diane Paulus is currently represented on Broadway by Waitress and off-Broadway by Eve Ensler's In the Body of the World at Manhattan Theatre Club. She is the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, and was selected for the 2014 TIME 100, TIME Magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. A.R.T.: Eve Ensler's In the Body of the World, Waitress, Crossing (a new American opera with music and libretto by Matt Aucoin), Finding Neverland (currently on the first National tour), Witness Uganda, Pippin (Tony Award, Best Revival and Best Director), The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (Tony Award, Best Revival, NAACP Award, Best Direction), Prometheus Bound, Death and the Powers: The Robots' Opera, Best of Both Worlds, Johnny Baseball, The Donkey Show. Her other recent work includes Cirque du Soleil's Amaluna, currently on tour in Europe, Invisible Thread at Second Stage, The Public Theater's Tony Award-winning revival of HAIR on Broadway and London's West End. As an opera director, her credits include The Magic Flute, the complete Monteverdi cycle, and the trio of Mozart-Da Ponte operas, among others. Diane is Professor of the Practice of Theater in Harvard University's English Department. She was selected as one of Variety's "Trailblazing Women in Entertainment for 2014" and Boston Magazine's "50 Thought Leaders of 2014."

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.

About the National Women's History Museum

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.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos