WAITRESS Comes to Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre This Spring
Performances run from March 11-30, 2025.
By: Stephi Wild Feb. 14, 2025
Bring your appetite because The 5th Avenue Theatre has pie on the menu. Waitress, the hit Broadway musical, is onstage from March 11-30, 2025. Featuring an all-star cast, an unforgettable score by Grammy Award-winner Sara Bareilles, and a heartwarming story, Waitress is a celebration of resilience, friendship, and the magic of making the perfect pie.
Based on the beloved 2007 film by Adrienne Shelly, Waitress tells the story of Jenna, an expert pie baker stuck in a small-town diner and loveless marriage. With the help of her quirky coworkers and an unexpected romance, Jenna embarks on a journey to discover her own strength, hope, and happiness–ultimately choosing to open her heart to the messier parts of life, which certainly don’t come with a recipe.
“Waitress is a show that speaks to the power of the things we need most in life right now - hope, family, purpose, and community,” said Bill Berry, executive director of The 5th Avenue Theatre. “It’s a story that reminds us to chase our dreams, embrace change, and to find joy in the unexpected. We are thrilled to welcome audiences to The 5th to experience this beautiful and deeply moving production.”
Taking on the role of Jenna is Kerstin Anderson. Audiences of The 5th may remember Anderson from the 2022 production of Afterwords. She was also previously seen as Maria Von Trapp in the 2015 U.S. national tour of The Sound of Music and on Broadway as the alternate for Eliza Doolittle in the 2018 revival of My Fair Lady. Joining Anderson is Tori Gresham (Mary Poppins) as Dawn, Porscha Shaw (Something’s Afoot) as Becky, Adam Standley (Something’s Afoot) as Dr. Jim Pomatter, Dane Stokinger (Rock of Ages) as Earl, Kennedy Kanagawa (Into the Woods on Broadway) as Ogie, Allen Fitzpatrick (Something’s Afoot) as Joe, Brandon O’Neill (Something’s Afoot) as Cal, and Bernadette Rengstorf and Sayla Roy as Lulu. Also included in the cast is Nalica Hennings (The Little Mermaid), Yusef Seevers (Something’s Afoot), Nik Hagen (Mary Poppins), Taylor Niemeyer-Symons (The Little Mermaid), Cherisse Martinelli (Legally Blonde at Village Theatre), Richard Peacock (White Christmas), Alyza DelPan-Monley (Mary Poppins), and Jason Weitkamp (Something’s Afoot). External understudies include Matthew Kacergis (The Little Mermaid), Carly Corey (Mary Poppins), Trina Mills (White Christmas), Rob Burgess (The Little Mermaid), Kristin Burch (White Christmas), and Nick McCarthy (Mary Poppins).
Directing and choreographing the show is Lisa Shriver who previously directed both Rock of Ages and Austen’s Pride at The 5th. On Broadway, Shriver has directed Jesus Christ Superstar, The Farnsworth Invention, The Story of My Life, and Ring of Fire. Joining Shriver on the artistic team is associate director Hattie Claire Andres (Into the Woods Rising Star Project), associate choreographer Katy Tabb (Spring Awakening), music director Matthew Antonio Perri (White Christmas), associate music director Beth G. Tankersley (Mary Poppins), set designer Julia Hayes Welch (The Last Five Years), associate set designer Brandon David Riel, lighting designer Robert J. Aguilar (Something’s Afoot), associate lighting designer Casey Price (The Last Five Years), sound designer Haley Parcher (Spamalot on Broadway), associate sound designers Kurt Conway (The Last Five Years) and Liam Steckler (Spring Awakening), Costume Designer Danielle Nieves (Sweeney Todd), costume design assistants Jason Kramer and Ty Pyne (The Last Five Years), hair & make-up designer Jason Goldsberry, dialect coach Alyssa Keene, and intimacy & fight director Francesca Betancourt. The stage management team is led by production stage manager JR Welden (Mary Poppins), assistant stage managers Erin B. Zatloka (Mary Poppins), and Melissa Y. Hamasaki (Memphis), swing stage manager Jamie Kranz (Spring Awakening), production assistants Larcyn Burnett and Bayla Jaffe, and child actor guardian Amy Jurkiewicz.
Comments
Videos