Nat Bass and Rob Mills' musical Waitress cancels all Sydney performances

Natalie Bassingthwaighte has addressed the abrupt cancellation of her musical Waitress in Sydney.

The star, 50, said her “heart was hurting” for theatre and the arts in Australia, after all planned shows in the city were cancelled due to low ticket sales.

The musical, which stars Bassingthwaighte, 50, and Rob Mills, 44, was set to arrive at the Sydney Lyric theatre from August 1, after completing tours of Brisbane and Melbourne.

The final performance will now be in Melbourne on July 19.

Bass took to her Instagram stories to address the news on Tuesday, saying she was sad not just for Waitress, but the entire arts industry.

“The arts is dying in this country and that hurts my heart beyond anything. The amount of effort and time and love that people have put in these careers, their passion, their dedication. It only spreads to an audience and it gives humanity reasons to live,” she said.

“I’m kind of numb at the same time that such beautiful work is being shut down.”

Read more

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson bit his tongue for three years, now he’s ready to ‘tell the world’

She also encouraged Melbourne fans to turn out for the show’s final three weeks, saying it was devastating that the cast and crew’s hard work “comes to an end so abruptly”.

Bass thanked friends, loved ones and strangers who had reached out to support her and the Waitress crew following the news.

“Please know that I’m OK, I’ve definitely been sad, and it’s definitely been hard to take but right now I’m more thinking of everyone else and the industry as a whole, and how and what we can do to get us back up on our feet,” she said.

Following the Waitress announcement, Crossroads Live Australia chief executive John Frost said the “decision was not made lightly” in a statement.

“While we remain incredibly proud of the production and grateful for the dedication and passion of everyone involved, the challenging economic conditions currently facing audiences have had a significant impact on the live entertainment industry,” he said.

Frost said while “audience enthusiasm for our work remained strong, attendance levels and box office have not been sufficient to support the cost of the production”.

Co-star Rob Mills, who plays Dr Pomatter, shared the news to his Instagram Story, and wrote: “Oh shit. You better come see it and I better look for a job.”

Waitress is a Tony-nominated musical following Jenna, a pregnant pie maker trapped in an abusive marriage. Seeking an escape, she enters a pie-baking contest for the prize money while navigating an affair with her new obstetrician.

Earlier this month, Bassingthwaighte told nine.com.au the show was “probably one of the most beautiful pieces of theatre I’ve ever worked on”.

She also revealed it would be her last show.

“Well, I say, this is my last show, it has to be … and everyone’s like, ‘You’ve said that before.’ But if I go out with this show, I’ll be very, very happy,” she said.

The Waitress cancellation comes just a week after the announcement that another production, Beetlejuice, would end its Australian run early.

The show will conclude in Brisbane on July 5, with its planned tour of Perth, Adelaide and Sydney cancelled.