$
June Squibb will star in Waitress on Broadway
June Squibb will star in Waitress on Broadway

June Squibb to Return to Broadway in Waitress

Academy Award-nominated actress June Squibb will return to Broadway after a 57-year absence to appear in the Broadway hit Waitress. In a gender swap of the role Joe (who owns the diner),  Squibb will play “Josie” from November 19, 2018, through January 6, 2019. This will mark the first time that the role will be played by a woman. Additionally, the show’s current star Nicolette Robinson has extended her stay with the musical until December 9.

June Squibb has appeared on Broadway as Electra, the electrifying stripper, in Gypsy with Ethel Merman, and has also appeared in The Happy Time, Gorey Stories, and Sacrilege. In recent years, Squibb is better known for her Academy Award-nominated performance as Kate Alexander in Alexander Payne’s Nebraska and for her recurring role of the Showtime comedy/drama Shameless. Other film roles include About Schmidt, as Jack Nicholson’s wife Helen, Table 19Love The CoopersAmanda and Jack Go Glamping, Father FiguresI’ll See You in My DreamsA Country Called HomeOther PeopleWelcome to MooseportWould You RatherThe Man Who Shook the HandIn and OutScent of a Woman, and Far From Heaven. She can be heard as the grandmother in the upcoming release, Wreck It Ralph 2, and seen in HBO’s Room 104, Lifetime’s Santa’s Boots, the feature film Blow the Man Down, and her recurring role on NBC’s Good Girls.

“Waitress tells the story of Jenna, an expert pie maker in a small town, who dreams of a way out of a loveless marriage with her husband Earl. A baking contest in a nearby county and the town’s new doctor may offer her a chance at a new life, while her fellow waitresses offer their own recipes to happiness. But Jenna must find the courage and strength within herself to rebuild her life. This new American musical celebrates friendship, motherhood, and the magic of a well-made pie.”

Opening on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in April of 2016 Waitress is directed by Diane Paulus (PippinHair) and choreographed by Lorin Latarro. The musical’s score is composed by music superstar Sara Bareilles, with a book by Jessie Nelson, adapted from 2007 screenplay by Adrienne Shelly. Waitress just celebrated two years on Broadway.

Waitress currently stars Nicolette Robinson, NaTasha Yvette Williams, Lenne Klingaman, Drew Gehling, Ben Thompson, Al Roker, Benny Elledge, Alex Wyse, Mariam Bedigian,Tyrone Davis, Jr., Law Terrell Dunford, Andrew Fitch, London Skye Gilliam, Molly Hager, Tiffany Denise Hobbs, Jessie Hooker-Bailey, Molly Jobe, Brandon Kalm, Anastacia McCleskey, Stephanie Torns and Dan Tracy.

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.

Learn More About Waitress