If you walked into the Brooks Atkinson Theatre back in 2016, you weren’t just seeing a show. You were basically walking into a giant, sugar-dusted therapy session. At the center of it all was Jessie Mueller. She didn't just play Jenna in Waitress the Musical; she inhabited her. It’s been years since she hung up the apron, but people still talk about her run like it was a religious experience. Honestly, it kind of was.
Mueller had just come off a massive win for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. She could have done anything. She chose a show about a pregnant waitress in an abusive marriage who bakes her feelings into pies. It sounds like a Lifetime movie on paper, but on stage? It was lightning in a bottle.
The Raw Magic of the Original Jenna
There is a specific kind of "Jessie Mueller" sound. It’s soulful, a little bit gravelly, and entirely unpretentious. When she sang the opening notes of "What’s Inside," you didn't feel like you were watching a Broadway diva. You felt like you were watching your sister or your best friend.
📖 Related: Captain Stanley on Emergency: What Most Fans Get Wrong About Dick Hammer
Waitress the Musical Jessie Mueller was a match made in heaven because of Sara Bareilles’ songwriting. Bareilles doesn’t write "theatre" songs in the traditional sense. She writes pop-folk diary entries. Mueller, who grew up in a family of actors in Chicago, has this innate ability to strip away the "performance" and just be a person.
Why "She Used to Be Mine" Broke Everyone
If you haven’t seen the 2016 Tony Awards clip of her singing "She Used to Be Mine," stop reading this and go watch it. Actually, wait. Read this first.
That song is the emotional peak of the show. Jenna is looking at herself in the mirror, realizing she doesn’t recognize the person she’s become. Most actors would belt the life out of it. Mueller? She started it like a whisper. It was messy. It felt private. By the time she hit those final power notes, the audience wasn't just clapping; they were exhaling.
- The Vulnerability: She wasn't afraid to look tired on stage. Jenna is exhausted, and Mueller leaned into that physical weight.
- The Voice: She found a way to bridge Bareilles’ specific radio-ready style with the demands of a live eight-show-a-week schedule.
- The Chemistry: Her scenes with Drew Gehling (Dr. Pomatter) were genuinely funny and awkward. It wasn't a polished romance. It was two people who were clearly making a "Bad Idea" work because they were lonely.
Creating a Broadway Blueprint
Waitress made history for having an all-female lead creative team. Jessie Nelson on the book, Diane Paulus directing, Lorin Latarro on choreography, and Bareilles on the music. But Mueller was the one who had to sell that vision every night.
She stayed with the production from its 2015 premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge all the way through March 26, 2017. That’s a long time to spend in Jenna’s headspace. When she left, the show became a revolving door of incredible talent—from Sara Bareilles herself to Katharine McPhee and Jordin Sparks. But Mueller’s Jenna remains the blueprint.
Facts You Might’ve Forgotten
Waitress the Musical Jessie Mueller earned a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical in 2016. She didn't win—that was the year Hamilton swept everything—but the nomination felt like a formality. Everyone knew she was the heart of the Broadway season.
Interestingly, Mueller has said in interviews that she never actually worked as a waitress before the show. She’d done catering, which she described as "faceless," but never the diner life. Despite that, she nailed the physical language of the job. The way she handled the flour, the rolling pins, and the constant wiping of the counters felt lived-in.
What Most People Get Wrong About Her Departure
There was some gossip back then about why she left after only a year on Broadway. Honestly? It was just time. Broadway leads usually sign one-year contracts. Playing Jenna is a marathon. You’re on stage for almost the entire show, you’re singing some of the most difficult pop-theatre songs ever written, and you’re carrying a heavy emotional load.
When Bareilles stepped in to replace her, it wasn't because Mueller "couldn't do it anymore." It was a passing of the torch. Bareilles has often said that watching Mueller interpret her music was what gave her the confidence to eventually play the role herself.
📖 Related: Bastille No Angels: The Weird History of That TLC Mashup
The Legacy of the Cast Recording
If you want to understand the impact of Waitress the Musical Jessie Mueller, you have to listen to the original cast recording. It’s one of the few modern Broadway albums that feels like a cohesive studio album.
- "A Soft Place to Land": The harmony between Mueller, Keala Settle, and Kimiko Glenn is practically perfect.
- "What Baking Can Do": This is where you hear the "classic" Mueller spunk.
- "Everything Changes": The finale isn't just a happy ending; it's a relief. You can hear the change in Mueller’s vocal tone from the beginning of the show to the end.
Why We Are Still Talking About It in 2026
Theatre is fleeting. Shows close, casts change, and sets are struck. But Jessie Mueller's Jenna felt like a definitive moment in 2010s Broadway. She proved that you don't need a massive, operatic voice to be a "Lead." You just need to be honest.
Waitress continues to be performed in regional theaters and schools across the country. Every girl who plays Jenna today is, in some way, chasing the ghost of what Mueller did at the Brooks Atkinson. She made it okay for a musical theater heroine to be flawed, scared, and a little bit "kinda" messy.
Next Steps for Fans:
If you’re looking to dive deeper into this era of Broadway, start by listening to the Original Broadway Cast Recording from start to finish. Don't skip the tracks without Mueller; the ensemble work is what gives the show its "diner" feel. Afterward, check out the Waitress: The Musical pro-shot (starring Sara Bareilles) to see how the staging evolved from Mueller's original run. Finally, look up Mueller’s 2018 performance in Carousel to see just how much her vocal style can shift when she moves from modern pop to classic Rodgers and Hammerstein.