Back on the Boards! Tony Nominee Will Swenson to Join Sara Bareilles in Waitress

Tony nominee Will Swenson is set to join the cast of Waitress on March 31. He joins the sweet-as-pie musical as the evil (spoiler!) Earl, Jenna's husband. Earl is currently played by William Popp, who will play his final performance on March 30.

As previously announced, Tony-nominated composer Sara Bareilles will step center stage as Jenna on March 31 as well; also as reported, TV favorite Chris Diamantopoulos is set to join the cast as Dr. Pomatter on that date. Original star Drew Gehling will play his final performance at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on March 30, four days after Jessie Mueller departs the show on March 26.

Swenson will appear in Hugh Jackman's upcoming movie musical The Greatest Showman. He was last seen on Broadway in Disaster!; his other Broadway credits include Les Miserables, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, 110 in the Shade, Lestat, Brooklyn and Hair, for which he received a 2009 Tony nomination. Off-Broadway, Swenson has appeared in Little Miss Sunshine, Murder Ballad, Rock of Ages, Pericles, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Adrift in Macao, The Slugbearers of Kayrol Island and Camelot. On screen, he has been seen in The Good Wife, The Switch, Gods Behaving Badly and This is Where I Leave You. As Broadway fans know, he is married to six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald.

Waitress tells the story of Jenna, an expert pie maker in a small town, who dreams of a way out of her loveless marriage with her husband Earl (Swenson). 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.

The cast also includes Charity Angel Dawson, Caitlin Houlahan, Dakin Matthews and Christopher Fitzgerald.