Al's Well That Ends Well
I'm not quite sure why I wasn't aware of this, but there you have it. Part of the reason is that I don't watch the Today show where it's been discussed for a while. But what I just found out is that last Friday, the show's weatherman Al Roker made his Broadway debut for a limited run in the hit stage musical, Waitress. He plays the character 'Old Joe,' owner of the pie diner where the story takes place, and even has a solo number, "Take It from an Old Man." Apparently he did well enough since he was scheduled to end his run on November 11, and they extended it for a week.
It's got to be a brutal schedule -- the musical most likely ends at 10:30 PM, and he doesn't get away from the theater until at least 11. And then has to be on the Today show set and ready to go probably by 6 AM.
The show is still running after 2-1/2 years with a score by Sara Bareilles. Here's a bit of the behind-the scenes, and Bareilles (who for a while took over title role from original star Jessie Mueller) talking about getting Roker in the show. Apparently, they'd been trying for a while, but some major weather events got in the way.
And here is in in the show. There's not a lot of footage of the production, but a bit of him acting and later briefly singing.
And here's one more clip, though I can't embed it. It isn't as detailed as the one above, but it has slightly more of Roker singing -- not much but you get more a sense of the song and can watch it here.
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