Katharine McPhee To Star in West End's "Waitress"- Page 2

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 12/21/18 at 8:38am

Okay. This right here. This is going to be adorable.

30 Rock Star Jack McBrayer Will Play Ogie In West End WAITRESS

[VotePeron]

Posted: 12/21/18 at 9:43am

What the hell are the producers thinking? There was a serious backlash on social media from people in the UK angry about the casting of a non-UK lead, and now they continue to cast C-List American celebrities? I have a feeling this will be a big ol' flop in London, word of mouth so far sucks.

[JennH]

Posted: 12/21/18 at 11:21am

disneybroadwayfan22 said: "Okay. This right here. This is going to be adorable.

30 Rock Star Jack McBrayer Will Play Ogie In West End WAITRESS"

I was a little shell shocked for a sec, but then thought about it....I have no idea about his singing skills, BUT based on acting alone, his Ogie will be BRILLIANT

[JSquared2]

Posted: 12/21/18 at 11:27am

VotePeron said: "What the hell are the producers thinking? There was a serious backlash on social media from people in the UK angry about the casting of a non-UK lead, and now they continue to cast C-List American celebrities? I

Oh please, give me a break.  There is literally NOTHING these days that will not cause a "serious backlash on social media"!  A small (but loud) subset of people do nothing other than be professionally outraged.  The funny thing is that 99.9% of them would never in a million years actually buy a ticket to what they are "outraged" about no matter what it was or who was in it. 

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 12/21/18 at 11:32am

JennH said: "disneybroadwayfan22 said: "I was a little shell shocked for a sec, but then thought about it....I have no idea about his singing skills, BUT based on acting alone, his Ogie will be BRILLIANT"

He will be seriously spot on as Ogie. His singing is pretty good as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNi2Z7IB4W4

[WestEndGal]

Posted: 12/21/18 at 11:45am

JSquared2 said: "VotePeron said: "What the hell are the producers thinking? There was a serious backlash on social media from people in the UK angry about the casting of a non-UK lead, and now they continue to cast C-List American celebrities? I

Oh please, give me a break. There is literally NOTHING these days that will not cause a "serious backlash on social media"! A small (but loud) subset of people do nothing other than be professionally outraged. The funny thing is that 99.9% of them would never in a million years actually buy a ticket to what they are "outraged" about no matter what itwas or who was in it."

Exactly! And I’m a Brit and don’t care that they cast an American as Jenna because having seen in Kat McPhee in the role on Broadway I think she’s a great choice, and because I love Waitress all I care about is they pick a good Jenna, whether she’s British, American or from any other country! I saw the Tina musical recently too and Adrienne Warren is unreal in the show, and never for one moment did I sit there thinking - “this should be a Brit”. 

And there wasn’t serious backlash at all - the vast majority of social media comments have been super positive about the casting, but like you say, there’s always a small but loud subset who like to have a moan and b*tch! 

Updated On: 12/21/18 at 11:45 AM

[rjm516]

Posted: 12/22/18 at 10:33am

I am really pleased about Jack! This is great casting. He's perfect! I don't know about this backlash; I think it's going to be a hit. London really needs that kind of great feel-good show that's actually quality. 

[SomeOtherMe]

Posted: 1/8/19 at 3:49pm

They started rehearsals yesterday.

[WestEndGal]

Posted: 1/15/19 at 7:57am

For anyone interested, there’s some great press rehearsal footage here for West End Waitress ..... full vids of “Soft Place to Land”, “It Only Takes a Taste” and “What Baking Can Do” with some commentary before each song by Diane Paulus, the director

https://youtu.be/l1-8ZRF235s

I think this is a really good cast, and can’t wait to see the show when it opens over here. I have seen both Marisha Wallace (playing Becky) as Effie in Dreamgirls and David Hunter (playing Dr P) as Charlie in Kinky Boots, and they’re great!