By Grace Hatchell, What Can I Get You?
There are some shows that arrive with fanfare and confetti, and then there are shows that quietly move into people’s lives and unpack their bags. I’ve always thought Waitress the Musical were one of the second sort. It doesn’t shout at you. It sits beside you, pours a cuppa, and before you realise, you’re talking about your own life instead of the characters’.
The smash hit romantic musical comedy Waitress will tour the UK and Ireland in 2026, visiting Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday 28 April to Saturday 2 May, produced by Barry and Fran Weissler and David Ian for Crossroads Live. But the real story behind this musical is not just its popularity. It’s who made it.
Waitress began as the 2007 film written by Adrienne Shelly, a gentle, observant story about a woman stuck in a marriage she can’t quite breathe inside. When it became a stage musical, something unusual happened in mainstream musical theatre. The creative heart of the show remained firmly in women’s hands.
The music and lyrics are by Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles. The book is by Jessie Nelson. Direction comes from Tony Award winner Diane Paulus, with choreography by Lorin Latarro. Between them they created a show centred not on spectacle, but on emotional honesty, friendship and survival. In an industry often filled with big heroic stories, Waitress chose the bravery of ordinary people.
The story follows Jenna, a talented pie maker in a small town who dreams of a different life beyond her loveless marriage. A baking contest and the arrival of a new doctor open the door to possibility, but the real strength of the piece sits with the women around her. Becky and Dawn are not side characters, they are lifelines. The show celebrates friendship, motherhood and the complicated process of rebuilding a life when it hasn’t turned out how you planned.
Since opening on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on 24 April 2016, the musical has travelled the world. It ran there until January 2020, opened in London’s West End at the Adelphi Theatre in March 2019 and has since been staged across North America, Japan, Holland, Canada and Mexico, with an Australian production arriving in 2026. Ten years on, audiences are still finding themselves inside it.
And I’ll tell you why, love. Because Waitress isn’t really about pies, though I won’t be turning one down. It’s about permission. Permission to start again. Permission to admit you’re unhappy. Permission to build a life that fits instead of one you’ve endured.
There’s a quiet kind of courage in this show. Nobody slays dragons or saves kingdoms. They go to work tired, laugh with friends, make questionable decisions and keep trying anyway. I see women in theatre queues who recognise themselves in Jenna, and men too if they’re honest. That’s the clever bit. It never lectures. It just holds a mirror up and says gently, you’re allowed to want more.
Ten years after its Broadway opening, Waitress still matters because it gave the musical theatre stage something surprisingly rare. Not a princess, not a tragedy, not a fairy tale ending handed down from above, but a story where a woman saves herself with help from her friends and a bit of stubborn hope.
Listings
Waitress
UK and Ireland Tour
Birmingham Hippodrome
Tue 28 April to Sat 2 May 2026
Book by Jessie Nelson
Music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles
Based on the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly
Directed by Diane Paulus
From one Yorkshire postie’s point of view, any musical that reminds people they deserve happiness is doing a public service. And if it sends you home wanting to phone a friend, hug your mum or bake something badly at 11pm, well, that’s theatre doing its job.
Waitress comes to Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday 28 April until Saturday 2 May 2026. Tickets can be booked at www.birminghamhippodrome.com or by calling 0121 689 3000.
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