Troy Jensen
Tonight, Jordin Sparks takes over lead role of Jenna in Sara Bareilles’ hit Broadway musical, Waitress. This marks Jordin’s first time back on Broadway since 2010, when she starred in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical, In the Heights.
Why return now? Jordin says basically, the stars aligned.
“I was always asked after I did In the Heights, ‘Would you do Broadway again?'” Jordin tells ABC Radio. “And I always said, ‘Well, I would love to, ’cause I miss it every day. But it has to be the right timing and the right thing, ’cause it’s such a big commitment.’ And this happened to be it.”
While Jordin’s now a happily married wife and mother, she says she still relates to the character of Jenna, a pregnant waitress and expert pie baker who’s trapped in a loveless marriage and begins an ill-fated affair with her OB-GYN.
“I relate to her on a whole bunch of different levels….emotionally, and in certain situations that she’s had to deal with, especially when she finally has the baby, and there’s that moment of realization like, ‘Wow, everything has completely changed,'” Jordin explains.
“But also in terms of what she’s been dealing with — the turmoil that she goes through — I’ve definitely had my fair share,” Jordin adds.
Though she was a Sara Bareilles fan before, Jordin says learning Sara’s score for Waitress has left her in awe of the “Brave” singer’s talent.
She gushes, “If you listen to the songs, they’re really fun and…really catchy, but when you have to learn them from the inside out, and you hear the intricacies, and the key changes and the lyrical aspects of everything…Sara Bareilles is a genius!”
Jordin will star in Waitress through October 27.
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