Willemijn Verkaik will take center stage as Jenne in Waitress as the Sara Bareilles musical tours the Netherlands. The traveling international production will kick off in September 2020.
The Dutch performer is perhaps best known for her work in Wicked, having the distinction of playing Elphaba in three languages: German (in Stuttgart), her native Dutch (in Scheveningen), and English (in the West End and on Broadway). Her additional stage credits include Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. She is also the voice of Elsa in the Dutch and German releases of Frozen.
The musical, featuring a score by Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson, currently plays Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre (through January 5, 2020) and the West End's Adelphi Theatre, as well as a North American Tour. It will make its Australian debut next year.
Verkaik is the latest in a long line of former Elphabas to don an apron as Jenna in the musical, following Shoshana Bean, Alison Luff, Stephanie Torns, Desi Oakley, Emily Koch, and Christine Dwyer. Watch her perform a snippet of "What Baking Can Do" from the show above.