“American Idol” and “Smash” star, Katharine McPhee, made her Broadway debut playing Jenna in Sara Bareilles’ play “Waitress” April 10. McPhee is playing the role in a limited engagement at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre through June 17. She took over the role from Sara Bareilles’ understudy, Stephanie Torres. The play also stars Drew Gehling, Christopher Fitzgerald, Ben Thompson and Na Tasha Yvette Williams.
At the end of Katharine McPhee’s “Waitress” debut, she beamed with pride as she appeared on stage with cast mates for the curtain call. McPhee has realized a childhood dream. She has said that she always dreamed of performing on Broadway and that’s what inspired her to pursue a Musical Theater career. McPhee posted photos on Instagram of herself in her “Waitress” costume and of her as a child performing. Reviews of McPhee’s performance are positive.
“Waitress” is based on Jessie Nelson’s book which was made into the 2007 independent film written by Adrienne Shelly and starring Kerri Russell. The film won several awards, but tragically, Shelly was murdered soon after. Pop singer and songwriter, Sara Bareilles, created the musical score for the stage production of “Waitress” which debuted in 2015. Bareilles played the role of Jenna last year. “Waitress” tells the emotional tale of unhappy pie chef, Jenna, with a comedic take. Jenna is a pie chef working in a small town southern diner. Unhappy in her marriage, Jenna puts money aside in the hopes of escaping when she discovers that she is pregnant. She begins an affair with her obstetrician and enters a pie making contest. In the end Jenna has her baby, Lulu, dumps her husband and obstetrician, wins the pie contest, buys the diner, and lives happily ever after with her daughter. McPhee has said that the storyline and music touched her because she can relate in many ways with Jenna. She can relate to the themes of relationships and motherhood, sadness, comedy and hope.
It’s not surprising that Katharine McPhee is performing on Broadway. She studied Musical Theater at the Boston Conservatory and starred in the Los Angeles production of “Annie Get Your Gun” before auditioning for the fifth season of “American Idol” in 2006. McPhee was runner up and “American Idol” helped launch her singing and acting career. McPhee’s first self-titled album was released in 2007. Most recently she released an album of standards called “I Fall In Love Too Easily”. McPhee’s acting career also took off after “American Idol”. She appeared in movies including 2007’s “Crazy”, 2008’s “The House Bunny”, and 2011’s “Shark Night 3D”. Katharine McPhee has also found a career in television. She appeared on “Ugly Betty”, “CSI: NY” and “Community”. In 2012 McPhee landed the role of Karen Cartwright on the NBC series “Smash”. Karen is an aspiring stage actress living in Iowa. She lands the role of Marilyn Monroe in the fictional Broadway play “Bombshell”. In 2015 McPhee played a one night concert at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre performing songs from “Bombshell”. Along with her 2 month Broadway stint in “Waitress”, Katharine McPhee stars in the CBS tech-action drama “Scorpion”. What’s next for McPhee? Maybe a Broadway production of “Smash”.
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