Sara Bareillesestablished herself long ago as a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter with earnest, heartfelt radio hits like “Love Song” as well as soulful, uplifting power anthems like “Brave.” After nearly a decade of writing and performing,she underwent a metamorphosis and expanded her scope, arriving at a point in her career where it only seems like a matter of time before Bareilles achieves the ever-prestigious EGOT distinction.
All that began when she composed the music for, and later starred in, the Broadway sensationWaitress: The Musical. The productionmarked a turn for Bareilles' careeras she began taking on more projects beyond creating and touring her own music. She was always a deft storyteller, but she took on greater challenges in creating works of art unconfined to a single medium. Now fans are going to be able to see the project that kicked off this new phase in her artistry asWaitress: The Musicalmakes its way to stream on Max, making it the very first pro-shot musical on the streamer.
“We’re so thrilled,” Bareilles tells Collider’sJoe Schmidt. “This was always our highest hope, that we would end up here. This is the streaming service I watch more than anything else. I just really love it and yeah, it just feels like the right home for the show. So we’re just so grateful.”
Waitressopened doors for Bareilles; she starred in the cult-favorite comedy seriesGirls5Eva, for which she also helped write the bombastic and hilarious pop songs reminiscent of the 2000s' greatest girl groups. Bareilles collaborated withWaitresswriterJessie NelsonandJ.J. Abramson theApple TV+ seriesLittle Voice. She earned Tony Award nominations for her work on Broadway, includingWaitress,Into the Woods, and theSpongeBob SquarePantsmusical. Moreover, Bareilles co-wrote the hauntingly beautiful “Look for the Light,” sung by Meryl Streep and Ashley Park for the third season ofOnly Murders in the Building.
Ahead ofWaitress: The Musical’s debut on MAX, we spoke with the multitalented performer who shared insights from this phase of her career, her many projects lauded projects, and even her partnerJoe Tippett’s disturbing role in the hit new Netflix seriesAmerican Primeval.
Waitress: From Screen To Stage and Back Again
“I was at this huge crossroads in my life and I couldn’t believe how much I related to this woman’s story.”
What was the journey like to bring this version ofWaitressto streaming?
SARA BAREILLES: Whoo. Long.Waitressis like The Little Engine That Could. The journey of this show has unfolded in so many kind of surprising and unique ways. I mean, when we closed the show on Broadway — this is pre-COVID — we didn’t get our ducks in a row to get a pro-shot together. We hadn’t done that before and that was a major regret of mine because the show, I think, just on a personal level, this show has changed everything about my life for the better. I will never understand how I got so lucky as to have said yes to this. And I didn’t know what I was saying yes to when I said yes, but it has truly been the reorganizing principle of my whole universe and I’m so grateful to this show. So I was really lamenting that we hadn’t kind of made that happen.
And then we got the opportunity to return to Broadway after COVID to help reopen Broadway. And it was a huge priority for our creative team was to make sure that we captured this show kind of not knowing where it would end up. We were just like, “let’s make sure that we get this so we know we have it.” And then it went sideways into the movie theaters.
We weren’t expecting that to be the journey of the show. And then it outperformed everyone’s expectations in the movie theaters and we got extensions and we made our money back and it was just a really beautiful testament to the resonance of the material and that the audience for this show is far and wide and they are loyal and they’re going to keep coming back to appreciate this show and experience it again and again. So this feels like [a] cherry on top that it gets to live on a streaming service where people will have access in their homes as it gets harder and harder to make the trek to to see theater live. Not thatWaitressis live right this second in New York. But I love the idea of bringing theater to people in their homes.
I think that we’ve really learned over the years that that’s not a deterrent for people coming to the shows on Broadway. It actually only helps augment and amplify.
I know that you were a theater nerd, you’ve said before that you grew up in that space. And then you have this amazing career in pop music, and now you’ve been branching out so it’s really interesting to see … because your character, that’s not your life. So what about your character resonates with you most?
BAREILLES: The main thing that I really learned early on and… writing the score for aWaitresswas a huge learning curve for me. I had some musical theater songs and music in my life, but I really had only written autobiographically and so it was — I call it [an] exercise in radical empathy. I was trying to find my way into all these different perspectives. So like the crotchety old diner owner and the abusive husband and [the main character] Jenna. And the first song that I wrote for the show was “She Used to be Mine.” And I think I didn’t realize at the time, like you said, our circumstances are so different, but these universal themes that are braided into her journey — a journey towards self-love, the regrets we carry, ending up in a life you don’t quite recognize it, not being the thing that you imagined for yourself, and having to kind of reconcile who you thought you would become with the person you actually are.
And I was at a time — I had just moved to New York and made a split with my manager, my band, my boyfriend, my home of 15 years in Los Angeles. I was at this huge crossroads in my life and I couldn’t believe how much I related to this woman’s story who was pregnant. It was a completely different set of circumstances, but it really spoke to me in terms of the universality of how people moved through their lives and the sort of crossroads we meet, you know, that I think exist across all kinds of circumstances. So I really — I drank the Kool Aid very early on in this show.
Broadway Return or ‘Girls5Eva’ Movie? Why Not Both
“I’m a hope addict. I’m hopeful that something will happen and, truly, I believe anything’s possible.”
You had a very well-praised run inInto the Woods. Is there a chance that we could see you return to Broadway anytime soon?
BAREILLES: I don’t know about timeline,but yes, definitely. I really feel like working in the theater is the medium that makes me the happiest. It fills my cup. I love the collaboration. I love the consistency. I love the live element. And I I love playing concerts for people, but I think also I really love being home, so I get to be in my home and sleep in my bed and have a normal life and then go do the thing I love more than anything. It’s a real sweet spot for me. So as long as they’ll have me, I will be knocking on the door of theater.
‘Girls5Eva’ Deserves Another Season
One of the best sitcoms of the 2020s may never get a proper ending.
Busy Philipps said thatGirls5Evais done and I think that’s a travesty. I was a huge fan of that show. My wife and I still sing “Afraid (Dawn’s Song of Fears)” to each other randomly at times. So I have to ask, is there a chance that that show could be saved again, maybe find a new home?
BAREILLES: Look. Anything is possible, I really believe that.Stranger things have happened. I think for now, what I think is great to highlight is that we have these three wonderful seasons. We got three incredible seasons of this show that are all hosted together. They’re all watchable, bingeable. And then who knows? I’ve been saying I want to do aGirls5Evamovie. I want to do, like, aSex in the City— Let’s. Go. To. Dubai. Well no, maybe not Dubai, but you know. Let’s go on tour. Let’s have the girls go on tour. I would love it. I’m a hope addict. I’m hopeful that something will happen and, truly, I believe anything’s possible.
It’d be great if they went to a Fyre Fest-type situation or something and that would be — let’s write it. I copyright it.
BAREILLES: [Laughs] You write it, and we’re gonna go do a GoFundMe.
Sara Bareilles Couldn’t Believe She Was Writing Music for Meryl Streep
“Did I go to the Good Place? What is happening here?”
You also had a really awesome song inOnly Murders in the Buildingthat the great Meryl Streep sang. That’s got to be surreal.
BAREILLES:It was really fun.It was a “pinch me” moment. Benj [Pasek] and Justin [Paul], who were the on-board composers for the whole season, had asked if I wanted to collaborate and they were like, “It’s for Meryl.” And I was like, “Did I go to the Good Place? What is happening here?” So we had we spent two afternoons together and this song really felt like it wrote itself. It was really fun and easy. Then going into the studio with Meryl and watching her sing and watching her work, I was so moved, partially because she also was just so transparent about her vulnerability too. She’s a beautiful singer, but singing is not the thing she does the most. So she was in a vulnerable space and felt capable to share that, and I found that to be really moving because, well, vulnerability is my favorite quality in people. [Laughs] I just was really impressed with how she moved through that and I just love the finished product too. I’m such a huge fan of that show. So it just felt like a “pinch me” moment.
I have to ask because it just came out and—American Primeval, have you watched it yet?
BAREILLES: Yes. [Deep exhale]
How do you feel about your partner Joe [Tippett] in his role in that because, oh boy…
BAREILLES: I mean, he’s incredible. I can’t say enough about how good it feels to not only love him for the person he is but to deeply admire his work.It is such a beautiful feeling.That show is intense. It is intense, and it’s intense to know that it’s based on true events. It’s a really hard and uncomfortable look at history, which I think is really important. And I think that they did an incredible job. He had such an amazing time shooting that show when they were in Santa Fe, and he loves the Southwest. He got to go to cowboy camp and ride horses all day. I was just like, “You’re literally living your little boy fantasy. This is incredible.” But I’m so proud of him.
Waitress: The Musical
A gifted waitress with a knack for creating extraordinary pies grapples with an unplanned pregnancy and a difficult marriage. Seeking a way out, she pins her hopes on a pie contest that could offer her the financial freedom to change her life. Throughout her journey, she navigates the complexities of friendship, love, and personal growth, building meaningful connections with her fellow waitresses and a charming new doctor.
