Al Roker to work a 6-week 'Waitress' shift on Broadway
Al Roker will join the cast of "Waitress" for six weeks starting Oct. 5, and the cherry on top is that he'll be singing, too. Credit: NBC
Affable "Today" weather anchor Al Roker will make his Broadway debut Oct. 5 in the musical "Waitress," playing diner owner Joe in the story of a rural waitress in a loveless marriage.
"I'm going to be singing, but remember," Roker, 64, joked on his morning show Wednesday, "beauty is in the pie of the beholder!"
The Queens-born TV personality has one song, the reassuring "Take It From an Old Man," performed by Joe and company, in the second act. Roker will be in six performances weekly through Nov. 11, with another actor filling in on the Saturday and Sunday matinees. Joe, originated onstage by Dakin Matthews, currently is played by Bill Nolte.
"I have less than one month to prepare," Roker said in a pretaped featurette on “Today” showing him studying with vocal coach Deric Rosenblatt. He joked: "I think as a singer I'm a terrific weatherman."
"Waitress," with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson based on the 2007 film by writer-director Adrienne Shelly, was nominated for four Tony Awards including best musical.
Nicolette Robinson, in her Broadway debut, took over the lead role of Jenna on Tuesday and is scheduled to perform through Oct. 28. No successor has been announced for the role, originated by Tony nominee Jessie Mueller in 2016 and since played by Bareilles herself, Katharine McPhee and others.
Andy Griffith played Joe in the movie, which starred Keri Russell and featured Shelly in a supporting role.
