Producers of the long-running Broadway hit musical Waitress have announced a performer joining the cast at the diner. Colleen Ballinger, the YouTube sensation who is best known for her character “Miranda Sings,” will enter the production at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in the role of “Dawn”. She will make her Broadway debut on August 20th, 2019 and will play a four-week limited engagement through September 15th.
Audiences will recognize Ballinger from a variety of places. She is an accomplished writer, actor, comedian, producer and New York Times Best Selling author. She is best known for her character, Miranda Sings with over 20 million followers on YouTube and over 3.5 billion views on her videos. She can currently be seen as ‘Miranda’ in her Netflix Original series “Haters Back Off,” as well as her one-hour special, “Miranda Sings Live…You’re Welcome.” Colleen has appeared in Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” Ralph Breaks the Internet, “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” Angry Birds 2, and Escape The Night. Ballinger is currently touring with her new one-woman show, “Who Wants My Kid?”
Waitress, which features a score by Sara Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson, currently stars Shoshana Bean, Charity Angel Dawson, Caitlin Houlahan, Erich Bergen, Ben Thompson, Larry Marshall, Benny Elledge, Noah Galvin, Melody A. Betts, Tyrone Davis Jr., Andrew Fitch, Molly Hager, Jessie Hooker-Bailey, Arica Jackson, Molly Jobe, Brandon Kalm, Emily Koch, Matt Kumangai, Tess Murphy, Everleigh Rotunno, Stephanie Torns and Dan Tracy. The musical is directed by Diane Paulus (Pippin) and choreographed by Lorin Latarro.
“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.”
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals, The Disney Song Encyclopedia, and The Encyclopedia of Television Theme Songs. He maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.