Waitress revival on Broadway closes due to the pandemic

The new Broadway production of Waitress has ended its run with immediate effect.

The hit musical, which originally closed in January 2020, was brought back to New York for a limited run in September.

The remount was originally due to run into January but has closed effective immediately today (23 December) due to the pandemic.

A statement read: “We are heartbroken to announce that Waitress on Broadway will be closing effective immediately.

“With only two weeks of performances remaining and due to positive cases of COVID detected in the company and crew at the Barrymore Theatre, the decision has been made to curtail the engagement which was scheduled to run through January 9.

“This is not how we wanted to finish our run but are so grateful to every fan and theater-lover who visited the Diner these past few months. Ticket holders will be contacted and refunded by their point of purchase.

“Thanks for taking us to the moon!”

At the time of closing the cast featured Ciara Renée and Joshua Henry in the lead roles of Jenna and Dr Pomatter.

It’s been widely rumoured that the production was previously filmed while composer Sara Bareilles was playing Jenna, however details about a possible proshot release have yet to be officially announced.

For now the show continues to tour both North America and here in the UK, fresh from a West End run which was also cut short due to the pandemic. The UK tour will continue performances in January 2022 in Northampton.

Meanwhile Waitress is the fourth closure on Broadway in just a week, following both Jagged Little Pill and Diana as well as play Thoughts of a Colored Man.