Rialto Chatter: Will WAITRESS Welcome Lucie Jones as Next Jenna?

BroadwayWorld has just learned that UK star Lucie Jones will soon join the cast of Waitress on Broadway as Jenna. Sara Bareilles and Tony Award winner Gavin Creel just played their final show as Jenna and Dr. Pomatter, yesterday, February 3. An official announcement has not yet been made.

Jones first came to prominence while competing on series 6 of The X Factor UK in 2009, where she finished eighth. She represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Never Give Up on You", finishing with 111 points in 15th place, the country's best result since 2011.

In May 2010, Jones was signed by Cameron Mackintosh to play Cosette in the West End production of Les Misérables. Jones also played the role of Victoria in the musical American Psycho at the Almeida Theatre in December 2013. In April 2015, Jones played the role of Emma in the showcase performance of Like Me, at The Waterloo East Theatre. In March 2015, she was cast as Molly in the Chinese tour of Ghost the Musical. In April 2016, she played the lead role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde at Curve Leicester. In 2016, she was cast as Maureen Johnson in the UK tour of Rent.

Waitress tells the story of Jenna, a Waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage. Pouring her heart into her pies, she crafts desserts that mirror her topsy-turvy life such as "The Key (Lime) to Happiness Pie" and "Betrayed By My Eggs Pie." When a baking contest in a nearby county - and a satisfying run-in with someone new - show Jenna a chance at a fresh start, she must find the courage to seize it. Change is on the menu, as long as Jenna can write her own perfectly personal recipe for happiness.

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 byLorin Latarro and direction by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus.