DCPA Theatre Company favorite Lenne Klingaman
will return to Denver with Waitress on Dec. 19

By John Moore
Senior Arts Journalist

Asked recently by the DCPA NewsCenter what her next project will be, Lenne Klingaman teased, “I can’t tell you yet, but it is going to be fun!”

Now we know. And it is going to be fun.

Klingaman, who is playing a female Hamlet for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival through Sunday (Aug. 13), will next join the Denver-bound national touring production of Waitress, it was announced today. 

Waitress is the new Broadway musical from Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles inspired by Adrienne Shelley’s 2007 motion picture. Klingaman, who played Juliet in the DCPA Theatre Company’s Romeo and Juliet and Sylvie/Young Helen in the world premiere of Appoggiatura, will play Dawn in Waitress.

More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter

The Waitress cast will be led by Desi Oakley (Les Miserables, Evita) as Jenna, Bryan Fenkhart (Memphis) as Dr. Pomatter, Nick Bailey (Red Oaks) as Earl and Ryan G. Dunkin (Bull) as Cal. They will be joined by current Broadway cast members Charity Angél Dawson (Waitress, Side Show) as Becky, Larry Marshall (Waitress, Smokey Joe’s Café) as Old Joe and Jeremy Morse (Waitress) as Ogie.

Oakley was the Eva Alternate on the Evita tour that visited Denver in 2013. Fenkhart played the lead role of Huey Calhoun when the Memphis tour came to Denver in 2012. 
 
The ensemble includes Skyler Adams, Law Terrell Dunford, Patrick Dunn, James Hogan, David Hughey, Arica Jackson, Kyra Kennedy, Emily Koch, Maiesha McQueen, Gerianne Perez and Grace Stockdale. Koch was the standby for Elphaba in the 2015 tour of Wicked that visited Denver. 

Read Lenne Klingaman’s interview in the New York Times

Brought to life by a groundbreaking all-female creative team, this irresistible new hit features original music and lyrics by 6-time Grammy® nominee Sara Bareilles (“Brave,” “Love Song”), a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam), choreography by Lorin Latarro (Les Dangereuse Liasons, Waiting for Godot) and direction by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (Hair, Pippin, Finding Neverland). Paulus launched the national tour of Pippin in Denver.
 
Inspired by Adrienne Shelly’s beloved film, Waitress tells the story of Jenna – a waitress and expert pie maker, Jenna dreams of a way out of her small town and loveless marriage. A baking contest in a nearby county and the town’s new doctor may offer her a chance at a fresh start, while her fellow waitresses offer their own recipes for happiness. But Jenna must summon the strength and courage to rebuild her own life.
 
“It’s an empowering musical of the highest order,” said the Chicago Tribune.

The national tour of Waitress premieres in Cleveland, on Oct. 17. It visits Denver’s Buell Theatre from Dec. 19-31. Single tickets go on sale on Friday (Aug. 11) at denvercenter.org.

In the Spotlife: Our profile of Lenne Klingaman

Lenne Klingaman played Juliet in the DCPA Theatre Company’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and two roles in the world premiere of the time-traveling ‘Appoggiatura.’ Now she is one of the few female actors to take on Hamlet, for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.