Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre-Media Centre
THE HIT MUSICAL

Jenna is a small town waitress with a passion for baking pies. When she becomes pregnant by her no-good husband and falls for a nice guy, Jenna realizes she needs to face the music.
 
When a pie-making contest is announced in a nearby county, Jenna sees a chance for a fresh start. With the support of her fellow waitresses, and one crusty regular, she finds the courage to pursue a half-baked dream. Hilarious and heartfelt, with gorgeous music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winning Sara Bareilles, this sweet musical serves up more than delicious pie.
 

Click on the image to download the digital program:

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Opening Night sponsor:




Understudies funded by:

ManitobaFund-(3).png The Winnipeg Foundation


ACCESSIBILITY: We're offering an Audio Described Performance on January 29 at 7:30pm. LEARN MORE

Waitress is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. mtishows.com


Cast & Crew

Production
Book Jessie Nelson
Jessie Nelson photo

Jessie Nelson

Jessie Nelson wrote the musical Waitress with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles. The show played on Broadway for four years and moved to the West End in London. Sara and Jessie went on to create the show Little Voice which they Executive Produced with JJ Abrams for Apple TV. Jessie wrote, directed and produced Corrina Corrina and I Am Sam starring Sean Penn, who received an Academy Award nomination for his performance. Among her other directing credits are Curb Your Enthusiasm and Love, the Coopers with Diane Keaton. Her writing credits include Step Mom and The Story of Us. She produced Fred Claus and Danny Collins. In London, Jessie directed Alice By Heart which she co-wrote with Steven Sater with music by Duncan Sheik at the National Theater Connections Program and again at MCC in NYC. She began her career as an actress at the Public Theater working with the award-winning experimental theater Mabou Mines and at the New York Shakespeare Festival. She wrote the children’s book Labracadabra. She has been the Artistic Director of the Sundance Screen Writers Lab.

Sara Bareilles photo
Sara Bareilles

Music and Lyrics

Music and Lyrics Sara Bareilles
Sara Bareilles photo

Sara Bareilles

Sara Bareilles first achieved mainstream critical praise in 2007 with her hit “Love Song,” which reached #1 in 22 countries from her debut album Little Voice. She has received nine Grammy nominations, which include Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Love Song” and Album of the Year for her third album, The Blessed Unrest (2013). Her book Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song (2015) by Simon & Schuster is a New York Times best seller. Sara composed the music and lyrics for her Broadway debut Waitress, for which she received her first Tony Award nomination for Best Score and a 2017 Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Theater Album Inside: Songs from Waitress. She also made her Broadway acting debut in 2017 as the lead role in Waitress. In 2018 she co-hosted the Tony Awards, was nominated for an Emmy and Grammy for her role in Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert and was awarded the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s Hal David Starlight Award. Sara also teamed up with Apple TV as an Executive Producer for Little Voice, a 10-episode series, for which she created the original music. She can also be seen starring in Tina Fey’s series GIRLS5EVA. 

Adrienne Shelly photo
Adrienne Shelly

Motion Picture

Motion Picture Adrienne Shelly
Adrienne Shelly photo

Adrienne Shelly

The late Adrienne Shelly was born in Queens, NY, to Elaine Langbaum and Sheldon Levine. After graduating Jericho High School in Jericho, NY, she enrolled at Boston University and majored in film production. She dropped out after her junior year and moved to Manhattan, where she made a name for herself in independent films with her work in The Unbelievable Truth (1989) and Trust (1990). She eventually moved behind the camera, writing and directing I’ll Take You There (1999) and Waitress (2007) (her final film). She was murdered on November 1, 2006 and is survived by her husband Andy Ostroy and their daughter Sophie.

Ann Hodges photo
Ann Hodges

Director

Director Ann Hodges
Ann Hodges photo

Ann Hodges

ROYAL MTC Yaga, Black Coffee, Harvey, Other People’s Money, August: Osage County, Top Girls, Jitters, Our Country’s Good.

OTHER THEATRE Elixir of Love (Manitoba Opera, also in Kaohsiung, Taiwan); Blackout, Grey Gardens (Musical Stage); Once (Citadel); Butcher, The Birds and the Bees, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The December Man (PTE); Mamma Mia!, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid (Rainbow); Much Ado About Nothing (SIR); Frozen River, Danny King of Basement, Jabber (MTYP); The Secret Mask (GCTC); The Birds and the Bees, The Lonely Diner (Blyth); Stories from the Red Dirt Road (Charlottetown Festival); and numerous operas.

FILM/TV Larry Saves the Canadian Healthcare System (web series).

TRAINING Graduate, National Theatre School (Directing), U of W.

ET CETERA Recently appointed Artistic Director of Prairie Theatre Exchange.

Floydd Ricketts photo
Floydd Ricketts

Music Director

Music Director Floydd Ricketts
Floydd Ricketts photo

Floydd Ricketts

ROYAL MTC Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (with Segal), The Color Purple (with Citadel).

OTHER THEATRE Selected: The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, The Little Prince, The Addams Family (Grand); The Flight (Gargantua); Choir Boy (CS); Cabaret, Venus (NTS); Medusa’s Children (OperaQ); Vocal Director: Disney Cruise Lines; Intern Music Director: One Touch of Venus, Trouble in Tahiti (Shaw).

TEACHING Assistant Professor/Director of Choral Activities, Skidmore College.

ET CETERA Recipient of Dora Mavor Moore Award (Composition), Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award (Outstanding Music Direction) and Montreal English Theatre Award (Outstanding Contribution to Theatre). Artistic Director at Ensemble Noir; Chorusmaster at L’Orchestre Philharmonique et Choeur des Mélomanes.

Janie Pinard photo
Janie Pinard

Choreographer

Choreographer Janie Pinard
Janie Pinard photo

Janie Pinard

ROYAL MTC First engagement.

OTHER THEATRE Resident Choreographer since 2010 (YES Theatre); Vaches, The Musical (Créations In Vivo).

TRAINING L’École de Clown et Comédie Francine Côté in Montréal and Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre in California.

Brian Perchaluk photo
Brian Perchaluk

Set Designer

Set Designer Brian Perchaluk
Brian Perchaluk photo

Brian Perchaluk

ROYAL MTC Recent and favourites: The Recipe (with TPM), The Comeback, The Mountaintop, Clue (with Grand), Burning Mom, The Three Musketeers, The Color Purple (with Citadel), The Cottage, Sarah Ballenden, Black Coffee, Billy Elliot the Musical, Harvey, August: Osage County, Picasso at the Lapin Agile (with NAC), M. Butterfly (with NAC).

OTHER THEATRE Brian’s work has been featured at theatres across the country, including two seasons each at the Shaw and Stratford festivals. Selected recent credits include: La Cantatrice chauve et La Leçon (Théâtre Cercle Molière); The Hockey Sweater and The Little Mermaid (Rainbow); Post Democracy (PTE).

TRAINING Graduate of U of W and NTS.

ET CETERA Recipient of Gemini, Jessie Richardson, Prix Rideau and Evie Awards.

Daina Leitold photo
Daina Leitold

Costume Designer

Costume Designer Daina Leitold
Daina Leitold photo

Daina Leitold

ROYAL MTC Costume Designer: The Recipe (with TPM), among men (with TPM). Set & Props Designer: Mix Tapes From My Mom (Regional Tour). Assistant Costume Designer: The Three Musketeers.

OTHER THEATRE Costume Designer: End of the Line (Walk & Talk/TPM); RENT (Rainbow); Twelfth Night (SIR); Narrow Bridge, Bar Mitzvah Boy (WJT); Awaken (SIR/zone41). Set, Props & Costume Designer: Fame (WST); Hamlet, Timon of Athens (SIR); Glad to Be Here, Edward II (TBTR); The Cherry Orchard (TBTR & Echo Theatre); Bike and Circuses (Green Kids); Red Earth* (One Trunk/TPM). Set & Props Designer: Year of Magical Thinking (PTE); The Dark Lady** (SIR/Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan); Plé (MTYP).

ET CETERA *Evie Award for Outstanding Production Design. **SATAward nomination for Production Excellence.

Bonnie Beecher photo
Bonnie Beecher

Lighting Designer

Lighting Designer Bonnie Beecher
Bonnie Beecher photo

Bonnie Beecher

ROYAL MTC The Runner (Human Cargo production).

OTHER THEATRE Something Rotten!, Twelfth Night (Stratford); Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Human Heart (Shaw); Emma Bovary (National Ballet of Canada); My Name is Lucy Barton (CS); Classic Soul (Mainfranken Wurzburg Ballet); A Streetcar Named Desire (Citadel); Aportia Cryptych (COC); Dion (Coal Mine); A Kiss to the World (Dusseldorf Ballet). Upcoming productions: Lady M (Dutch National Ballet); Major Barbara (Shaw); Demian (Hamburg Ballet); Mary Queen of Scots (Scottish Ballet).

ET CETERA Bonnie has designed over 400 productions for theatre, opera and dance. bonniebeecher.com

Chris Coyne photo
Chris Coyne

Sound Designer

Sound Designer Chris Coyne
Chris Coyne photo

Chris Coyne

ROYAL MTC The Mountaintop, Into the Woods, Calpurnia (with NAC/Black Theatre Workshop), The (Post) Mistress, Fun Home, Kill Me Now (with NAC), The Hound of the Baskervilles 2016 (Tour). Head of Sound (2022-2024) and Technical Director (2018-2022) at the John Hirsch Mainstage.

OTHER THEATRE Chris has had the pleasure of working with many local and international theatre groups. Credits include Routes 2016/17 Tour (MTYP); The Hound of the Baskervilles Mar. 2015, Little Thing, Big Thing Sep. 2015 (PTE); EDEN 2013 (Sarasvàti); Bashir Lazhar Mar. 2013 (TPM); Angels in America 2012, Perestroika 2014 (WJT); Three Sisters 2011 (zone41).

TRAINING Chris is a graduate of the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology.

ET CETERA Chris has been involved in the theatre industry in Winnipeg for many years and now manages the new Desautels Concert Hall on the University of Manitoba campus.

Sam Hutchings photo
Sam Hutchings

Intimacy Director

Intimacy Director Sam Hutchings
Sam Hutchings photo

Sam Hutchings

ROYAL MTC Intimacy Director & Apprentice Director/Choreographer: The Sound of Music.

OTHER THEATRE Intimacy Director: Snow White (RWB); The Seat Next to the King (Winnipeg Fringe). Performer: Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, The Wizard of Oz (Rainbow); The Prom (Dry Cold); Twelfth Night (ViC); Reefer Madness (WST).

FILM/TV Intimacy Coordination: It Takes Two, Clown in a Cornfield, Don’t Even, The Spencer Sisters, Winner, Alter Boys. Performer: Clown in a Cornfield, Unspoken, The Santa Summit, Francesca Quinn P.I., Harland Manor, Love Strikes Twice.

TRAINING Intimacy Coordinators Canada Certification Program, Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, The University of Winnipeg, The Village Conservatory. 

ET CETERA Forever in awe of the talent and spirit of the Winnipeg arts community. Thank you for supporting local theatre!

Jacquie Loewen photo
Jacquie Loewen

Fight Director

Fight Director Jacquie Loewen
Jacquie Loewen photo

Jacquie Loewen

ROYAL MTC Fight Director (selected): The Recipe (with TPM), The Mountaintop, Clue (with Grand), Yaga, Into the Woods, The Rez Sisters, Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (with Arts Club/Citadel), Vietgone (with fu-GEN/Hope and Hell), Hand to God, Private Lives, Gone With the Wind, August: Osage County, Romeo and Juliet, The Seafarer. Actor: The Three Musketeers, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, Top Girls.

OTHER THEATRE Fight Director (selected): Macbeth (Bard on the Beach); Indigenous Playwrights New Works Workshop (PTC – Vancouver); Beauty and the Beast (Rainbow); The Flood Thereafter (CS); Don Giovanni (Manitoba Opera); Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Taming of the Shrew (SIR); Prairie Nurse (PTE).

TEACHING U of Winnipeg, U of Manitoba, Trinity Western, Simon Fraser University, Kansas State University.

ET CETERA Jacqueline was a founding member of the Canadian Comedy Award-nominated sketch group Hot Thespian Action.

Tom Soares photo
Tom Soares

Dialect Consultant

Dialect Consultant Tom Soares
Tom Soares photo

Tom Soares

ROYAL MTC Coaching: The Recipe (with TPM), among men (with TPM), Trouble in Mind, The Rez Sisters, Jane Eyre. Acting: Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III. 

OTHER THEATRE Coaching: The Winter’s Tale, Hamlet, Richard III (SIR); Iceland, Mary’s Wedding (TPM); Little Thing, Big Thing (PTE); Shrek (Rainbow). Acting: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Little Women, Urinetown(Dry Cold); Hamlet (Bunchback’d Toads); Passion (Red Hen Productions); Annie (Rainbow); The Odyssey (SIR); Troilus and Cressida, Measure for Measure (Tom-Tom Theatre). 

FILM/TV Coaching: The Porter, Esther, Incident in a Ghostland. Acting: The Spencer Sisters, Love in the Alps, Burden of Truth, Nobody.

TRAINING/TEACHING MFA in Acting with a Voice Specialization from York University. Tom regularly teaches courses on voice and performance for the Department of Theatre and Film at the University of Winnipeg.

ET CETERA I’m so glad to be back at Royal MTC supporting another fantastic group of artists!

Matthew Paris-Irvine photo
Matthew Paris-Irvine

Assistant Director

Assistant Director Matthew Paris-Irvine
Matthew Paris-Irvine photo

Matthew Paris-Irvine

ROYAL MTC Assistant Director: The Three Musketeers. Director: The Show (Tiny Plays, Big Ideas). 2020/21 National Mentorship Program.

OTHER THEATRE Director: Raised by Women (upcoming – PTE); Tales of Hoffman (Manitoba Underground Opera); Macbeth (Stratford Directors Workshop); Assistance (Winnipeg Fringe Festival); Bastard (Out From Under The Rug); Ophelia (Shakespeare Festival). Movement Director: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (SIR). Assistant Director: A Wrinkle in Time (Stratford); Feast (PTE); Iago Speaks (SIR).

FILM I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight (Mongrel Media).

ET CETERA Thank you to my Mother, my Grandmother and my Nana, who helped me see how much more we can accomplish with the hand we are dealt. Sugar, butter, flour <3

Kelly Robinson photo
Kelly Robinson

Assistant Music Director

Assistant Music Director Kelly Robinson
Kelly Robinson photo

Kelly Robinson

ROYAL MTC First engagement.

OTHER THEATRE Performer: The Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast (Rainbow); Hansel & Gretel, The Three Little Pigs Tour, Gianni Schicchi (MB Underground Opera); The Medium (Flipside); A Little Night Music (Dry Cold); Ruddigore (Gilbert & Sullivan); The Reindeer King. Music Director: A Year with Frog and Toad (MTYP); Upcoming: Dogfight (Dry Cold) in April 2025.

TEACHING Kelly is an in-demand voice teacher/vocal coach trained through U of M Music and Berklee with over 20 years teaching experience.

ET CETERA Kelly is grateful to many terrific people for their support and encouragement especially Joseph, Leanne, Jonathan and Melanie. Immense gratitude to Floydd Ricketts for his mentorship and guidance. Much love to Josh and their wonderful kids and meowers. It’s a joy to play Sara Bareilles’ music each night in the Waitress band. Thanks for the piano lessons, Mom and Dad!

Honey Pham photo
Honey Pham

Apprentice Director

Apprentice Director Honey Pham
Honey Pham photo

Honey Pham

ROYAL MTC Actor: The Play That Goes Wrong (with Citadel/TC), 2023/24 National Mentorship Program, 2023/24 Assistant Education Coordinator.

OTHER THEATRE we could be clouds (fu-GEN); Carried By The River (Red Snow Collective); A Perfect Bowl of Pho (Kick & Push Festival); Narnia (Theatre Sheridan/Bad Hats).

TV Zaasakwe, Fourth Period Burnout (CBC); Colour of Scar Tissue (APTN).

TRAINING Honours Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance at Sheridan College.

ET CETERA Recipient of the Jean Murray – Moray Sinclair Scholarship. Shoutout to the after school leaders program for providing accessible arts education for low income students. Thank you to my dearest friends, jj, mom, sister and ba noi.

Dustyn Wales photo
Dustyn Wales

Stage Manager

Stage Manager Dustyn Wales
Dustyn Wales photo

Dustyn Wales

ROYAL MTC The Lehman Trilogy, Yaga.

OTHER THEATRE Over 100 productions across Canada including Newsies, Mamma Mia!, The Sound of Music, Driving Miss Daisy, Kinky Boots, Prom, Mary’s Wedding (Drayton); Once, Mamma Mia!, Doubt (Thousand Islands); Goblin:Macbeth (Spontaneous Theatre); Revolutionary Women in Jazz, Billy Bishop, Glengarry Glen Ross, Faith Healer, Travesties, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Soulpepper); Blackout, Take the Moment, Light in the Piazza, Craigslist Cantata (Musical Stage); You Dance (National Ballet); A Man A Fish (Persephone); Musical of Musicals (Mirvish); i think i can, Blue Planet (YPT); Rocky Horror Show, Jesus Christ Superstar, Into the Woods, The Tempest (Hart House); Soldier On (UK Toronto Tour); Pan Am Games. Upcoming: Shrek The Musical (Drayton); 9 to 5 The Musical (Thousand Islands).

ET CETERA Thanks and love to my family and Nick.

Katie Hoppa photo
Katie Hoppa

Assistant Stage Manager

Assistant Stage Manager Katie Hoppa
Katie Hoppa photo

Katie Hoppa

ROYAL MTC The Mountaintop.

OTHER THEATRE Select recent credits: The Year of Magical Thinking, The Waltz (PTE); Afterlight (Walk&Talk/The Keep); Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, The Wizard of Oz (Rainbow); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Iago Speaks, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing (SIR); Summer of Semitism, Narrow Bridge (WJT); A Charlie Brown Double Bill (MTYP); Bad Parent (PTE, vAct).

ET CETERA Love to Kristjan, Rupert and Juniper for all their support this season.

Tori Popp photo
Tori Popp

Assistant Stage Manager

Assistant Stage Manager Tori Popp
Tori Popp photo

Tori Popp

ROYAL MTC Assistant Stage Manager: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Sound of Music; Urinetown, 9 to 5 The Musical (Royal MTC/MBA Lawyers Play). Apprentice Stage Manager: New, Morning After Grace.

OTHER THEATRE Festival Manager of the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival. Assistant Stage Manager: Afterlight (The Keep Theatre/Walk&Talk Theatre Co.); Charlie Brown Double Bill (MTYP).

TRAINING Bachelor of Arts Hons., with a specialization in Theatre Production and Stage Management (University of Winnipeg). Stage Management and Production Assistant Practicum (Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity).

ET CETERA It’s such an immense pleasure to make art with my friends, congratulations to the whole team! Love always to FIC and M&D!

Devon Helm photo
Devon Helm

Apprentice Stage Manager

Apprentice Stage Manager Devon Helm
Devon Helm photo

Devon Helm

ROYAL MTC Apprentice Stage Manager: The Recipe (with TPM), The Piano Teacher, Trouble in Mind. Child Supervisor: The Comeback, The Sound of Music.

OTHER THEATRE The River, Pool (No Water) (Stage Manager – Winnipeg Fringe Festival); Climate & Main (Stage Manager – TPM). For U of W: 365 Days/365 Plays, Alunsina’s Love (Stage Manager), Love of the Nightingale, Love’s Labour’s Lost (Assistant Stage Manager), Frankenstein (Production Assistant), Time and the Conways (Sound Designer), Everybody (Set Designer), Concord Floral (Wardrobe Coordinator). FAME the Musical (Design Mentee – WST).

TRAINING University of Winnipeg Bachelor of Arts – Stage Management & Production. SMArts Conference 2023.

ET CETERA All my love to my family and friends!

Bailey Chin photo
Bailey Chin

Child Supervisor

Child Supervisor Bailey Chin
Bailey Chin photo

Bailey Chin

Cast
Ogie Jeremy Carver-James
Jeremy Carver-James photo

Jeremy Carver-James

ROYAL MTC Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (with Segal).

OTHER THEATRE Something Rotten!, La Cage Aux Folles (Stratford); Come From Away (Australian National Tour/Mirvish); Rock of Ages, Rocky: The Musical, Ghost: The Musical, Hairspray, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Red Rock Diner (Drayton); Alberta Kitchen Party (ATP); 9 to 5: The Musical (Citadel); Back in ‘59 (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Hairspray (TA); Shrek The Musical (Globe Theatre); Porgy and Bess (Opera de Montréal); and four seasons at Shaw.

TRAINING Graduated from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music in Vocal Performance.

ET CETERA Betty Mitchell Awards for Outstanding Ensemble and Production of a Musical (Alberta Kitchen Party – 2022 – Performer/Co-writer). Special thanks to my friends, family, the Talent House team, and Goonlash for their ongoing love and support. @jcarverjames

Kira Chisholm photo
Kira Chisholm

Club Knocked Up Trio / Ensemble; US: Mother / Minister

Club Knocked Up Trio / Ensemble; US: Mother / Minister Kira Chisholm
Kira Chisholm photo

Kira Chisholm

ROYAL MTC Emergency Replacement: Trouble in Mind. Child Supervisor: The Sound of Music. 2022/23 National Mentorship Program.

OTHER THEATRE Fall On Your Knees (CS); The Last Five Years (Hot Reject Productions); There’s Nothing You Can Do, Cabaret, Venus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (NTS); Measure for Measure, Richard III (Bard in the Barracks).

TRAINING Kira has trained at The Banff Centre Slaight New Play Actor Training 2024, The National Theatre School of Canada – Acting 2022, and BA Hons. St. Thomas University 2019. Love and light to all those caught in or breaking cycles of violence.

Duncan Cox photo
Duncan Cox

Ensemble; US: Dr. Pomatter

Ensemble; US: Dr. Pomatter Duncan Cox
Duncan Cox photo

Duncan Cox

ROYAL MTC Once (with Grand). Upcoming: Murder for Two.

OTHER THEATRE Rent, Strike! The Musical, South Pacific (Rainbow); Hamlet: A Modern Players Guide (SIR/Gargoyle Players); Charlie Brown, Narnia (MTYP); Afterlight (with The Keep), End of the Line (with TPM), The Ballad of Johnny Boy, “KING”, The Headliners, The Last Garden, Blink (Walk&Talk); Breaking Up With Me (JHG Creative); Pippin (with ViC), Reefer Madness (WST).

TV Alter Boys (CBC Gem original miniseries).

ET CETERA Duncan wants to thank his loved ones for their endless support and the light they bring into his life. He is excited to eat a lot of pie over the run of this show and hopes you’ll get a slice too!

Julia Davis photo
Julia Davis

Club Knocked Up Trio / Ensemble; US: Dawn / Francine

Club Knocked Up Trio / Ensemble; US: Dawn / Francine Julia Davis
Julia Davis photo

Julia Davis

ROYAL MTC Little Women, The Sound of Music (with Citadel).

OTHER THEATRE The Wizard of Oz, The Little Mermaid (Rainbow); Miss Shakespeare (WST/Rainbow); Frozen River/Nîkwatin Sîpiy (MTYP); The Yeomen of the Guard (G&S Society of Winnipeg).

FILM/TV Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (CityTV); Acting Good (CTV/APTN); Greenhill (Koj-B Films); Burden of Truth (Eagle Vision); SkyMed (Paramount+); Finality of Dusk (Eagle Vision).

TRAINING Graduate of Desautels Faculty of Music and The Village Conservatory for Music Theatre.

ET CETERA Julia would like to thank her family and friends for their never-ending support and love! 

Victoria Exconde photo
Victoria Exconde

Mother / Minister / Ensemble; US: Nurse Norma / Club Knocked Up Trio

Mother / Minister / Ensemble; US: Nurse Norma / Club Knocked Up Trio Victoria Exconde
Victoria Exconde photo

Victoria Exconde

ROYAL MTC Rizal workshop.

OTHER THEATRE Ma-Buhay!, Mary Poppins (Rainbow); Fame (WST); Saplings (One Trunk Theatre); Yofanana, Mapiko (Nafro Dance Productions).

FILM/TV Maria Mendoza Friesen in Ode Production’s Maria and the Mennos (YESTV). Music Video Dancer: Te Olvide (Litos); Ice Cream Truck (Rusty Robot). Movement Coordinator: Apple$ (Selci); Love Your Rock n’ Roll (The Sorels).

TRAINING/TEACHING Training: Graduate of the University of Winnipeg with a BA Honours in Theatre and Dance; completed the Senior Professional Program at The School of Contemporary Dancers; and trained with BOSS Dance Team, and The Winnipeg Blue Bomber Cheer and Dance Team. Teaching: Dance Instructor at LA Dance Academy and Meraki Theatre.

Aaron Hutton photo
Aaron Hutton

Ensemble; US: Cal

Ensemble; US: Cal Aaron Hutton
Aaron Hutton photo

Aaron Hutton

ROYAL MTC Billy Elliot The Musical.

OTHER THEATRE Cinderella, Les Misérables, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Footloose (Rainbow); Shrek The Musical (The Globe Theatre, Regina); Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, South Pacific (WSO); Stars of David (WJT); Avenue Q (WST); Little Women, Sweeney Todd, The Light in the Piazza (Dry Cold).

TRAINING Master of Music and Bachelor of Music from Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music; Musical Theatre Training Intensive from the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

ET CETERA For my sweet mom for spending time with her young kids in the kitchen long ago, and instilling in us the therapeutic benefits of a night baking.

Jessica Jones photo
Jessica Jones

Nurse Norma / Ensemble; US: Becky

Nurse Norma / Ensemble; US: Becky Jessica Jones
Jessica Jones photo

Jessica Jones

ROYAL MTC First appearance.

OTHER THEATRE Little Shop of Horrors (Theatre NorthWest); Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Stage West); Escape to Margaritaville (TC); Tick, Tick… Boom! (Forte Musical Theatre).

TRAINING Graduate of the University of Calgary’s Drama program.

ET CETERA Received a Betty Mitchell Award nomination for her performance in Tick, Tick… Boom! (Forte Musical Theatre). Jess is honoured to be performing for the first time in her hometown.

Omar Alex Khan photo
Omar Alex Khan

Cal; US: Joe

Cal; US: Joe Omar Alex Khan
Omar Alex Khan photo

Omar Alex Khan

ROYAL MTC New, The New Canadian Curling Club, Romeo and Juliet, The Seafarer, Glengarry Glen Ross, Black Coffee.

OTHER THEATRE Oslo (Mirvish/Theatre 180); Timon of Athens, The School for Scandal, The Komagata Maru Incident (Stratford); As You Like It, Titus Andronicus (CS); Million Dollar Quartet, The Wars, A Thousand Splendid Suns (Grand); The Kite Runner (TC/Citadel); Antigone (Two Planks and a Passion); Moonlight and Magnolias (PTE); Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice (SIR); Iceland (TPM); Three Sisters (TPM/zone41).

TV Shelved (CTV); ZARQA (CBC Gem); Frankie Drake Mysteries (CBC); Remedy (Global); The Strain (FX); Mayday (Cineflix/Paramount+); Less Than Kind (HBO Canada).

TRAINING BA (Theatre and Film), University of Winnipeg.

ET CETERA omaralexkhan.com

Julia Kroft photo
Julia Kroft

Francine / Club Knocked Up Trio / Ensemble; US: Jenna

Francine / Club Knocked Up Trio / Ensemble; US: Jenna Julia Kroft
Julia Kroft photo

Julia Kroft

ROYAL MTC First appearance; 2022/23 National Mentorship Program.

OTHER THEATRE Actor: The Prom – Canadian Premiere (Dry Cold); Inhibition Exhibition (ViC). Assistant Director: A Pickle (WJT). Event singer at various Winnipeg events.

TRAINING The Village Conservatory for Music Theatre; Rainbow Stage Actor’s Intensive; Bachelor of Commerce (hons) from The Asper School of Business (marketing and leadership).

ET CETERA Julia is so grateful to her friends and family for being her cheerleaders, always!

Jeff Lillico photo
Jeff Lillico

Dr. Pomatter

Dr. Pomatter Jeff Lillico
Jeff Lillico photo

Jeff Lillico

ROYAL MTC First appearance.

OTHER THEATRE Ralph Maclean in Forgiveness (upcoming), William Shakespeare in Something Rotten!, Bertram in All’s Well That Ends Well, Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew (Stratford); Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest (Citadel); Mack in Fairview (CS/Obsidian); Charles Kean in Red Velvet (Crow’s). Elsewhere: 23 productions at Soulpepper including Of Human Bondage and Spoon River at Signature Theatre, NYC; Romeo in Romeo & Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Shaw Festival (5 seasons).

FILM/TV Coffey in Netflix’s Locke & Key, Fitzpatrick in On the Basis of Sex, Designated Survivor, Murdoch Mysteries, Hudson & Rex, Nurses, Flashpoint, Copper.

ET CETERA Dora Award for The Light in the Piazza. Five other Dora nominations. Love to Kimwun and my family!

Lulu Elledyn Lount
Elledyn Lount photo

Elledyn Lount

ROYAL MTC First appearance.

TV Background acted for a Hallmark movie (Autumn at Apple Hill).

TRAINING Kindergarten student; gymnastics (Dakota Gymnastics).

ET CETERA A girl with big dreams, boundless energy and a love for acting! Though she’s new to the theatre world, she has something even better than training: a fearless spirit, a heart full of creativity and her mom as her biggest (and perhaps most dramatic) coach. With her mom’s homemade acting tips, a sprinkle of humour and a dash of pure enthusiasm, she’s ready to shine in the spotlight.

Becky Laura Olafson
Laura Olafson photo

Laura Olafson

ROYAL MTC Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (with Segal), Into the Woods, Fun Home, Million Dollar Quartet, Private Lives, Things We Do For Love, Harvey.

OTHER THEATRE Funny Girl, Falsettos, Intimate Apparel (WJT); Footloose, Joe’s Coat, Mary Poppins, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, Beauty and the Beast, Guys and Dolls: In Concert, Cinderella, Wizard of Oz, The Little Mermaid (Rainbow); Urinetown, A Man of No Importance, The Prom (Dry Cold); The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet (SIR); Iceland, Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (TPM); Into the Woods, Tigers Be Still (District Theatre Collective); The Savannah Disputation (PTE); Skriker (Echo (Beach) Theatre).

FILM/TV The Long Walk (Lionsgate); Pumpkin Everything (Cartel); SkyMed (CBC/Paramount+); The Pinkertons (Buffalo Gals).

TRAINING/TEACHING Laura graduated from Grant MacEwan University’s Theatre Arts program. She also works as an EA in WSD1’s Inclusion Support programs.

ET CETERA Laura has spent many years working in both service and support work and would like to give a special shoutout to all the folks just doing the best they can. For Gary Plouffe and Louis Gagné.

Jeff Rivet photo
Jeff Rivet

Father / Ensemble; US: Earl

Father / Ensemble; US: Earl Jeff Rivet
Jeff Rivet photo

Jeff Rivet

ROYAL MTC First appearance.

OTHER THEATRE Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella (Rainbow); The Prom (Dry Cold); Little Shop of Horrors (Front Row Centre); The Big Boom Theory, That’s Dirty Dancing, Jailhouse Rock, Bewitching Elvis, Jump for Glee (Celebrations Dinner Theatre).

TRAINING Graduate of Grant MacEwan Theatre Arts.

ET CETERA Jeff is beyond excited to finally step onto the Royal MTC stage. It is a dream come true for him. Thank you to his partner, his family and his friends for always supporting him. Who knew musical theatre and pie went so well together? Enjoy the show!

Dawn Rhea Rodych-Rasidescu
Rhea Rodych-Rasidescu photo

Rhea Rodych-Rasidescu

ROYAL MTC The Recipe (with TPM), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (with Segal), Into the Woods. 2022/23 National Mentorship Program.

OTHER THEATRE Miss Shakespeare (WST); Merrily We Roll Along (Dry Cold); Tuck Everlasting (Opera NUOVA); People, Places and Things, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Arcadia (U of W).

TRAINING BAH Acting University of Winnipeg.

ET CETERA She is a proud recipient of the Jean Murray – Moray Sinclair Scholarship. She is also passionate about theatre education and is an instructor at MTYP. Rhea is thrilled to bring this stellar show to Winnipeg audiences. Thank you, Ann, Floydd and Janie, our wonderful cast, and my friends and family for your love and support.

Joe Steve Ross
Steve Ross photo

Steve Ross

ROYAL MTC Guys & Dolls (with TC/Citadel), Assassins (with TiFT).

OTHER THEATRE Stratford Festival – 21 seasons; The Full Monty (Rainbow); A Year with Frog and Toad (MTYP/Citadel); Shrek The Musical, A Christmas Story, A Little Night Music, A Christmas Carol (Grand); London Road, Into the Woods, Indian Ink, Dream (CS); The Producers (Mirvish/Neptune); Seussical the Musical, Sylvia, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (TA); One for the Pot (Drayton); The Three Musketeers (Chicago Shakespeare); Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad (Showboat); West Side Story, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Citadel); A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Sudbury Theatre Centre).

FILM Richard II (Stratford).

TRAINING National Theatre School – Class of 1991.

ET CETERA Writing credits: goldfish, Life Without, 12 Dinners (Here for Now).

Earl Justin Stadnyk
Justin Stadnyk photo

Justin Stadnyk

ROYAL MTC Actor: The Sound of Music (with Citadel), Into the Woods, As You Like It (with Citadel), Matilda the Musical (with Arts Club/Citadel), Grumpy Old Men: The Musical, White Christmas, The Boys in the Photograph (with Mirvish), Fiddler on the Roof, The Wave. Assistant Director: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (with Segal). 2023/24 National Mentorship Program.

OTHER THEATRE Actor: Kinky Boots (Mirvish); The Prom, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder (Dry Cold); Dear Jack, Dear Louise, Falsettos (WJT); Pal Joey, Into the Woods (TIFT); A Little Night Music, Wonderful Town (Shaw); Saturday Night Fever (National Tour); Kinky Boots, Hairspray (Drayton); Mamma Mia!, Legally Blonde (TA); Anne of Green Gables, Ring of Fire (Charlottetown); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Rainbow); Robin Hood, Cinderella (Ross Petty).

FILM/TV The Woman with the Red Lipstick (Lifetime); King of the Camp (YTV).

ET CETERA Justin is excited to be directing Dogfight for Dry Cold later this year. @j_stadnyk. justinstadnyk.com

Stephanie Sy photo
Stephanie Sy

Jenna

Jenna Stephanie Sy
Stephanie Sy photo

Stephanie Sy

ROYAL MTC Romeo and Juliet, The Penelopiad, Vietgone (with fu-GEN/Hope and Hell).

OTHER THEATRE Next to Normal (Musical Stage/Mirvish); Chicago (Pizza Party Productions); Beauty and the Beast (Rainbow); Prairie Nurse (PTE); Tribes (WJT); The Little Mermaid (Globe Theatre); Prom Queen (Segal); American Idiot (WST); James and the Giant Peach (MTYP); Little Women (Dry Cold); A History of Breathing (Persephone); We Will Rock You (1st National Tour).

FILM/TV Love Hurts (Universal Pictures/87 North); Ordinary Angels (Lionsgate); Millionaire Murderer (Lifetime); Violent Night (Universal Pictures/87 North); Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Lionsgate); Fractured (Netflix); Ruthless Souls (ImagineNATIVE); First Person Shooter (Tubi); Seance (Shudder); The Santa Summit (Hallmark); Nikola Tesla and the End of the World (CBC Gem); The Porter (CBC/BET); Burden of Truth (CBC); FUBAR (Netflix); Hudson and Rex (CityTV/Amazon Prime).

ET CETERA As always, this is for my Mama and Daddio, who made me the dreamer I am today. And for my mother-in-law, Giselle, who taught me how to make pies. 

Chase Winnicky photo
Chase Winnicky

Ensemble; US: Ogie / Father

Ensemble; US: Ogie / Father Chase Winnicky
Chase Winnicky photo

Chase Winnicky

ROYAL MTC Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (with Segal), Into the Woods, 2021/22 National Mentorship Program.

OTHER THEATRE Actor: Mary Poppins, The Wizard of Oz (Rainbow); Narnia (Bad Hats/MTYP); Kiss of the Spiderwoman, The Addams Family (Dry Cold); Alice in Wonderland (Diversified Theatre); Much Ado about Nothing (Dauntless); Andy Warhol Musical (Mirvish workshop); The Nutcracker (National Ballet of Canada); Oceania Cruises. Director: The Prom (Dry Cold). Assistant Director: Million Dollar Quartet (TC).

FILM/TV A Carol for Two, Haunted Wedding, A Christmas Cookie Catastrophe, ’Tis the Season to be Merry, Crashing through the Snow, SkyMed, The Porter.

TRAINING Randolph College for the Performing Arts.

ET CETERA Chase is over-the-moon pie to be a part of this show! chasewinnicky.com

Loading ticket information
Production ID: 33924
Start Date: 1/7/2025 2:39:32 PM
End Date: 2/1/2025 2:39:44 PM
Title: Waitress
Playwright: Book by Jessie Nelson
Music & Lyrics by Sara Bareilles
Based upon the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly
Billing: Directed by Ann Hodges
Warnings:
Synopsis: THE HIT MUSICAL

Jenna is a small town waitress with a passion for baking pies. When she becomes pregnant by her no-good husband and falls for a nice guy, Jenna realizes she needs to face the music.
 
When a pie-making contest is announced in a nearby county, Jenna sees a chance for a fresh start. With the support of her fellow waitresses, and one crusty regular, she finds the courage to pursue a half-baked dream. Hilarious and heartfelt, with gorgeous music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winning Sara Bareilles, this sweet musical serves up more than delicious pie.
 

Click on the image to download the digital program:

Ovation3Cover.jpg

Facility: John Hirsch Mainstage
Alternate URL: https://royalmtc.ca/Current-Plays/Waitress.aspx
Play Image:
Word Mark: 47607af8-474e-4f34-bdb3-1df92c2cba72
Rotator Image: 4202a060-5d24-41ff-9390-dc302555c34d
Display Rotator From: 12/14/2024 12:01:00 PM
Display Rotator To: 2/1/2025 11:59:00 PM
 

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