Trivia / Waitress

• Cut Song: Bareilles released a whole EP of cut songs from the musical in 2019 called What's Not Inside: The Lost Songs From Waitress.
  • "Door Number 3" detailed Jenna's dissatisfaction with her marriage with Earl, but this felt redundant, as it was already established by "You Will Still Be Mine". The song evolved to become "What Baking Can Do", which chooses to focus more on how Jenna uses baking as a coping mechanism in life.
  • "Without A Believer" was a solo song for Dr. Pomatter where he opens up to Jenna about his lonely youth and a waitress that befriended him and supported his eccentric ideas. The song was later scrapped as it took focus away from Jenna as the protagonist, though it can be argued that it gives much-needed depth to Pomatter and explains why he felt the need to have the affair with her, implying that Jenna gives support that he feels his wife doesn't provide him. Elements of Pomatter's backstory, namely Jenna resembling a waitress from his childhood, are incorporated into the much lighter "It Only Takes A Taste".
  • "Happy Enough" was a solo number for Cal where he tells Jenna to find the small things worth sticking around for in her situation and "make do with 'happy enough'".
• Descended Creator:
  • Director-screenwriter Adrienne Shelly also plays Dawn in the film.
  • In the musical, composer-lyricist Sara Bareilles succeeded Jessie Mueller as Jenna, headlining the 2021 Broadway revival production and appearing in the 2023 proshot.
• In Memoriam:
  • The film is dedicated to Adrienne Shelly, but you better be paying attention during the closing credits to notice.
  • The musical proshot is dedicated to Shelly and Nick Cordero, the actor who originated the role of Earl on Broadway and died in the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Unlike in the film above, this dedication is the first thing to come up in the credits.
• Inspired by…: Adrienne Shelley revealed in her final interview that came up with the film's idea during the last month of her pregnancy.
  • The five-minute date scene was inspired by real-life dates that Adrienne went on.
  • Dr. Jim Pomatter's last name is a hybrid of three Yankees players (Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, and Derek Jeter respectively)
• Real-Life Relative:
  • Adrienne Shelly's husband appears at Dawn's wedding reception, her daughter Sophie plays Lulu at two years old in the last scene when Jenna inherits Joe's diner. and Adrienne's mother has a briefly appearance as a contestant when Jenna wins first place in the pie contest along with Sophie's real-life nanny.
  • Producer Todd King's oldest son plays a bratty boy named Hunter and his youngest two appear in the final minutes of the movie and his daughter Mackenzie plays a flower girl in the aforementioned wedding scene.
  • In the musical proshot, Sara Bareilles (Jenna) and Joe Tippett (Earl) were dating at the time, announcing their engagement after its release.
• Romance on the Set: Sara Bareilles met Joe Tippett during the out-of-town tryout for Waitress at the American Repertory Theater, and they began a relationship in 2016.
• What Could Have Been: Michelle Visage revealed she was going to play Becky in the Broadway Musical, revealing her self tape on Instagram for World Theatre Day.