National tour brings the Broadway musical ‘Waitress’ to Wichita’s Century II

When Kennedy Salters auditioned for the role of Becky in the touring production of “Waitress” last year, she was almost entirely unfamiliar with the musical and the role.

“I was not familiar at all,” she emphasized from a tour stop in Springfield, Mo. “I think I was one of the odd bunches out of this cast. They were saying, ‘You haven’t listened to this musical?’

Two fellow actors, Salters said, each told her — twice — that she should audition to play the worldwise waitress.

“They said, ‘There’s a role here for you and you should be auditioning for this,’” she said. “I did a lot of studying before I went into the audition, listened to Becky’s song on a loop, and tried to get familiar with it.”

There was no script circulating to study, she said, and her only exposure to the musical had been original star Jessie Mueller’s performance at the Tony Awards in 2016. The musical was shut out of its four nominations that year but did win outstanding feature actor in a musical from both the Drama Desk Awards and the Outer Circle Critics Awards.

“Waitress” comes to Wichita for three performances next week, presented by American Theatre Guild.

Once she auditioned, Salters said, she had a good feeling she would get the role.

“I definitely felt good about it. It’s a really cool thing when you walk into a room,” she said. “Sometimes you can feel peoples’ energy, and I knew … I had done as much preparing as I could.”

Based on the 2007 move rom-com of the same name, “Waitress” centers on Jenna, a waitress in an abusive relationship who unexpectedly becomes pregnant, later beginning an affair with her doctor. When she’s looking to escape her situation, a pie contest may be the answer.

Music and lyrics for “Waitress” are by seven-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles.

Salters’ character, Becky, and Dawn are Jenna’s fellow waitresses.

“I’d say Becky is ballsy, she’s sassy,” Salters said. “She’s gonna do whatever she wants, but she is also very loving. There’s a very soft element to her. She does a great job of supporting Jenna and Dawn, who are the other waitresses, but she’s like that friend or family member who tells you their wisdom, but they’re gonna tell it to you the way they wanna tell it to you.

“She will definitely wrap it up in a little ball of sass and give it to you,” Salters added.

The Broadway production was one of the first with an all-female production team, and Salters said the perspective is welcome.

“These characters are either us or they’re people that we know, or we’ve heard about them from a third party. There’s some connection somewhere. They’re people you empathize with,” she said. “These three characters balance each other out, as far as different characteristics and different qualities. They’re very human and very relatable.”

This is the second time “Waitress” has been on tour. The first featured Wichita native Desi Oakley as Jenna.

While Salters said she doesn’t know Oakley, her name came up frequently as the latter filled in for several weeks in London’s West End in the role of Jenna. Oakley documented her first 24 hours in London in an Instagram post on social media.

“Everybody was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s so crazy,’” Salters said.

“Waitress” is the first national tour for Salters, an Atlanta native who received a degree from Brenau University in Georgia in 2017.

“It’s definitely taught me that I can withstand more than I thought,” she said of touring. “A lot of us actors are used to going to a regional theater and working there for a month, two months, then going back to New York. To just be traveling consistently and doing eight shows a week is different than staying in a regional theater.”

The tour continues through late June. Traveling, Salters said, is proving her perseverance.

“It’s awesome to discover that I can do hard things,” she said. “It has its challenges, but it’s been very rewarding so far, which is nice.”

WAITRESS

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, March 3-5

Where: Century II concert hall, 225 W. Douglas

Rating: No children under 5 admitted. Parental discretion advised for children under the age of 13

Tickets: $45.50-$110.50, from broadwaywichita.com, wichitatix.com, 316-303-8100 or the Century II box office