Artist Spotlight: Meet Jessica Vosk of ‘Waitress’

For each production this season, Artist Spotlight will highlight one Muny star for you to get to know.

This week, we introduce you to Jessica Vosk, who stars as Jenna in the Muny premiere of Waitress. The show runs July 30-Aug. 5.

At The Muny, Jessica has starred as Florence in Chess (2023) and as Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (2022). She is currently developing the role of Cee Cee Bloom in the musical adaptation of Beaches, which recently had its international premiere.

Jessica is best known for her portrayal of Elphaba in Wicked, both on tour and in the 15th Anniversary Broadway company. Also on Broadway, she has appeared in Fiddler on the Roof, Finding Neverland, The Bridges of Madison County and Sarah Silverman’s Bedwetter at Atlantic Theater Company. Jessica is an accomplished concert artist, completing her first 20-city solo tour last year and playing Carnegie Hall twice in one season.

We caught up with Jessica early in the rehearsal process for Waitress.

Q • How have you been preparing for this role?

A • I’m a huge Sara Bareilles fan. When I found out she was writing a musical, I thought, “That’s a really great choice.” I’m also a huge Adrienne Shelly fan. She wrote the original screenplay that was made into this fantastic musical, which I love very, very much.

I put out a debut album in 2018, when I was doing Wicked, and I put “What Baking Can Do” on that album. And I sing it in most of my concerts. It’s what a lot of people have been wanting to hear for a very long time. And I’ve been able to cover more songs throughout the years, but I’ve never gotten to do the role. Timing just never worked out. The Muny is doing a production of Waitress that is like no other I’ve seen yet, so the fact that I get to play Jenna is pretty thrilling.

Q • How is Jenna different from other roles you’ve played at The Muny?

A • It’s a totally different character in many ways. I mean, the roles I’ve played are these immediately strong women with very strong backbones. And from the get-go you see that strong backbone. You see the immediate ability to stand up for oneself. And Jenna’s not that way. She’s from a small town. She doesn’t have the voice yet. She has been working at one place for a very long time. She has a husband who is — let’s just call him not so great.

And then she happens to meet this doctor from out of nowhere who becomes her safety blanket in many ways. And then it opens her up quite a bit. But she’s got a very heavy piece of armor on and doesn’t reveal her true self to a lot of people because I think she just doesn’t know who she is anymore. And then she gets to find herself again at the end.

Q • What do you want St. Louis audiences to take away from this story?

A • I want them to relate to it. I want them to know that the people you’re seeing onstage are you. I want them to know that this story is so utterly American and relatable, and it takes place now. Even though it feels a little retro, it’s taking place now.

And there are so many reasons for people to come and enjoy the music, which is phenomenal on its own. But this is a really beautiful book. It’s a great play. The characters are so well written. There’s comedy, there’s incredible drama and there’s a lot of vulnerability. And I think no matter what age you are, you are going to take something with you either that you remember or something that you want to achieve and accomplish for yourself.

Q • What do you love about coming back to The Muny every summer?

A • What don’t I love about coming back to The Muny every summer? I happen to think that The Muny has become a very, very highly revered place for those of us Broadway actors who want to do beautiful shows during the summer. It’s a fast and furious contract, as many who have done this venue before know. But there’s magic here. There’s a reason they say The Muny is magical.

The scale of everything here — from cast to creative teams to sets to audiences to education — everything that The Muny does here is 10 out of 10. It’s gold-star level. So I think it keeps people coming back. And I know a lot of people have traveled to come see me do the couple of roles that I’ve done at The Muny. And this one seems to be the big one. People are excited.

Go into the Muny rehearsal studio with Jessica and Devin DeSantis, who plays Dr. Pomatter, as they sing a selection from “Bad Idea.” Music Director/Conductor Andra Velis Simon accompanies on piano.

Jessica talks with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about her return to The Muny and the road that led her to the theatre. Read the interview