WAITRESS Southern California Regional Premiere Begins In September

La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment will open its 2024-2025 season with the Southern California regional theatre premiere of the hit Broadway musical, WAITRESS, with book by Jessie Nelson, music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles (based upon the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly), musical direction by Jennifer Lin, choreography by Cost n' Mayor, and direction by Abbey O'Brien.  

WAITRESS will preview on Friday, September 20 at 8 pm & Saturday, September 21 at 2 pm, have its official Press Opening on Saturday, September 21 at 8 pm, and run through Sunday, October 13, 2024 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.  

Meet 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 which 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.  Featuring music and lyrics by GRAMMY Award winner, Sara Bareilles (“Love Song,” “Brave”), this hit musical is a little slice of Broadway heaven!

ABOUT THE CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

The Cast of WAITRESS features Desi Oakley as “Jenna,” Ben Jacoby as “Dr. James Pomatter,” Brian Krinsky as “Earl,” Cleavant Derricks as “Joe,” Dominique Kent as “Becky,” Brian Calì as “Cal,” Rianny Vasquez as “Dawn,” Jared Gertner as “Ogie,” Ashley Moniz as “Jenna's Mother/Ensemble,” Ashley Támar Davis as “Nurse Norma/Ensemble,” Johnisa Breault as “Francine/Ensemble,” Annabelle Bergold & Layni Rose Cowden (at some performances) as “Lulu.”  The Ensemble features (in alphabetical order): Ricky Bulda, Michael Bullard, Grant Hodges, Michael James, and Tayler Mettra.  Swings are Emma Nossal and Alec Talbott.

Sara Bareilles (Music & Lyrics) can be seen starring in the Emmy nominated series, “Girls5eva.”  Bareilles first achieved mainstream critical praise in 2007 with her widely successful hit "Love Song,” which reached No. 1 in 22 countries around the world from her debut album Little Voice.  Since then, she has gone on to receive seven GRAMMY  nominations throughout her career, which include Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Love Song,” and won Album of the Year for her highly acclaimed third studio album, The Blessed Unrest.  Her book, Sounds Like Me: My Life (so far) in Song, was released in the fall of 2015 by Simon & Schuster and is a New York Times best-seller.  Making her Broadway debut, she composed the music and lyrics for Waitress, for which she received her first Tony nomination for Best Score and a 2017 GRAMMY nomination for Best Musical Theater Album.  She also made her Broadway acting debut in 2017 by stepping into the lead role in Waitress.  2018 was a big year for Sara: she co-hosted the Tony Awards, was nominated for an Emmy and a GRAMMY award for her role in “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” and was awarded with the Songwriters Hall of Fame's Hal David Starlight Award.  She also teamed up with Apple TV as an executive producer for “Little Voice,” a 10-episode series, for which she created the original music.  The 2022 Broadway cast album for Into the Woods is available for streaming, as is Amidst the Chaos: Live from the Hollywood Bowl for which she joined forces with legendary Academy Award-winning producer T Bone Burnett.  Both albums spotlight her voice as a singer and storyteller like never before, while making an enduring statement.

Jessie Nelson (Book) wrote Waitress with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles.  The show played on Broadway for four years and then moved to the West End in London.  Sara and Jessie went on to create the show Little Voice, which they executive produced with J.J. Abrams for Apple TV.  Jessie wrote, directed, and produced Corrina, Corrina and I Am Sam, starring Sean Penn, who received an Academy Award nomination for his performance.  Directing: “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and Love, the Coopers with Diane Keaton.  Writing: Stepmom and The Story of Us.  Producing: Fred Claus and Danny Collins.  In London, Jessie directed Alice by Heart, which she co-wrote with Steven Sater, with music by Duncan Sheik at the National Theater Connections Program and again at MCC in NYC.  Jessie began her career as an actress at the New York Shakespeare Festival and at The Public Theater working with the award-winning experimental theater Mabou Mines.  She wrote the children's book Labracadabra and has been the Artistic Director of the Sundance Screen Writers Lab.

ABBEY O'BRIEN (Direction) is currently the global associate director & choreographer of the original Broadway production of Waitress the musical.  She also just wrapped up her time as the associate director on the hit musical Moulin Rouge and the associate choreographer on the acclaimed Broadway show, Jagged Little Pill.  Her career in the entertainment industry has spanned more than 20 years, from being a Tony Award-winning cast member on the creative teams for Emmy-nominated TV shows and Tony-nominated Broadway shows, to directing original works, choreographing music videos, and collaborating with major corporations as a creative director.  Director: Never Be King, The Art of Life, The Rocky Horror Show, Meet Me in St. Louis, 13: The Musical, A Quarantine Cabaret.  Choreographer: Extraordinary (directed by Diane Paulus); Dreamgirls, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Big Fish, Rock of Ages (Theatre Raleigh); Mamma Mia! (Casa Mañana); American Idiot (TUTS); Sugarland (music video); “The Late Show with David Letterman” (CBS); “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” (NBC).  Associate: Is There Still Sex in the City, Odyssey (The Public Theater); Elf (Paper Mill Playhouse); Ragtime (Lincoln Center); Company, National Pastime (Bucks County Playhouse); A Taste of Things to Come (Broadway Playhouse).  Some of her favorite credits as a performer: Spamalot, Pal Joey (Broadway); Radio City Rockettes. Abbey is also the director of theatre at Perry-Mansfield. You can see more of her work at Abbeyo.com

COST N' MAYOR (Choreography) Austin and Marideth Telenko are thrilled to bring their choreography to La Mirada Theatre.  The couple recently toured with the GRAMMY Award-winning group Pentatonix and have brought their infectious movement to “Good Morning America,” “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” ABC's “Home Economics,” and “The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.”  They've also choreographed campaigns for Apple, Lexus, Target, Disney, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and more.  Austin and Marideth want to thank their families for always cheering them on and their online community of over 9 million fans for supporting and following along on their journey! @cost_n_mayor

Jennifer Lin (Musical Direction) is an L.A.-based music director and educator. Productions: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (La Mirada Theatre with McCoy Rigby Entertainment), On This Side of the World(East West Players), Matilda (5-Star Theatricals and La Mirada Theatre), The Last Five Years (After Hours Theatre), XY (NAMT Festival of New Musicals).  She teaches musical theatre at USC, LACHSA, and Geffen Academy.

The Design Team for WAITRESS is as follows: Lighting Design by Brian Gale; Sound Design by Josh Bessom; Costume Coordination by Adam Ramirez; Hair/Wig Design by Kaitlin Yagen; Make-Up Design by Madison Medrano; Properties Supervision by Kevin Williams.  The Casting Director is Julia Flores.  The Production Stage Manager is Jill Gold.    

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

WAITRESS will preview on Friday, September 20 at 8 pm & Saturday, September 21 at 2 pm.  It will open on Saturday, September 21 at 8 pm (Press Opening) and run through Sunday, October 13, 2024 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.  

Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 pm; Fridays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 2 pm & 8 pm; and Sundays at 1:30 pm & 6:30 pm.  There is no performance on Sunday, September 21 at 6:30 pm.

There will be an Open-Captioned performance on Saturday, October 5 at 2:00 pm.  Talkbacks with the cast and creative team will be on Thursday, September 26 at 7:30 pm and Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 pm.        

Tickets range from $19 - $85 (prices subject to change) and can be purchased at La Mirada Theatre's website www.LaMiradaTheatre.com or by calling the La Mirada Theatre Box Office at (562) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310.  Group and military discounts are available. $19 Student Tickets are available.  Children under 3 will not be admitted into the theatre.  

 

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