Waitress Newcomer & Today Host Al Roker on His Broadway Debut: 'I'm Eliza Doolittle'

Watch your back, Benanti—there's another Eliza Doolittle heading to Broadway this October. In a chat with Broadway.com, Waitress-bound weatherman Al Roker compared himself to the iconic My Fair Lady character as he prepared to take his first steps in a musical. Roker begins performances as Old Joe in the Sara Bareilles-scored Waitress at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on October 5. 

Was Broadway always the dream?
It’s kind of kooky. Somebody from Waitress called my agent, and I thought, "Nah, I’m not going to do this." But my daughter was a theater major at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. She said, "Come on, it’s Broadway. How can you say no?" And I thought, "Why not?"

Were you a musical theater fan growing up?
I was in second grade, and my mom took me to see A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Zero Mostel. It was magic. I always thought in the back of my mind if I got the chance to do something like that, the only role I would ever think about would be Pseudolus if they ever revive A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Were you familiar with Waitress?
I saw the original film. The idea that I would be playing the role that the legendary Andy Griffith played in the movie is kind of crazy.

What has your training for this role entailed?
I’ve been taking voice lessons with Deric Rosenblatt. If this works out, it will probably be his greatest triumph. I’m going to be the Eliza to his Henry Higgins.

So, how's the pie?
Here’s the thing. I was sorely disappointed when I went to do publicity photos with the incredibly talented Nicolette Robinson. All those pies are fake. They’re prop pies! The only ones that I saw were fake. Hopefully, there’s something real there!

What made you want to take on this opportunity?
The idea of humiliating yourself in front of a live audience night after night is pretty exciting to me. You just want to do your best. The good news is there is a massively talented cast surrounding me. Every step on this journey is something new.