Character guide
Earl
from Waitress
Earl is Jenna's controlling husband in Waitress, Sara Bareilles's 2016 musical, and the central obstacle to her happiness.
- Show
- Waitress
- Broadway premiere
- 2016
- Role
- Supporting
- Music by
- Sara Bareilles
Earl: from the film to Broadway
Broadway compared with the 2007 film
The stage Earl carries a real-life tribute. Nick Cordero took over the role for Broadway in 2016 and later died of COVID-19; when Waitress returned to Broadway in 2021, the company added dialogue in which Jenna names the wedding pie A Big Ol' Slice of Live Your Life Pie, after Cordero's single Live Your Life.
Jeremy Sisto played Earl Hunterson, Jenna's abusive husband, in the 2007 film. The musical keeps his controlling nature, including his demand that Jenna promise not to love the baby more than him, and gives him the duet You Will Still Be Mine. Joe Tippett played Earl at the American Repertory Theater in 2015 and returned for the 2021 run.
Who is Earl?
Earl is Jenna's husband, a man whose insecurity manifests as control and, at times, cruelty, demanding money and attention from Jenna while offering little support in return. His behavior, including pressuring her financially even after learning of her pregnancy, makes him the clearest antagonist in Jenna's life.
Rather than being redeemed, Earl functions largely as the pressure Jenna must free herself from, and the show is careful not to soften or excuse his controlling behavior. His presence sharpens the stakes of Jenna's journey toward independence and self worth.
Earl's role in Waitress
Earl is a supporting role, but a pivotal one dramatically, requiring a performer who can make his neediness and volatility believable without tipping into cartoonish villainy. His scenes with Jenna carry much of the show's tension and set up the emotional stakes of her eventual choice to leave him.
Nick Cordero originated the role on Broadway, bringing a charismatic edge that made Earl's controlling behavior feel unsettlingly plausible rather than exaggerated. Audiences remember Earl as a difficult but necessary presence in the story, the relationship Jenna has to outgrow in order to find herself.
Earl: frequently asked questions
What show is Earl from?
Earl is a supporting character in Waitress, which opened on Broadway in 2016.
Is Earl a lead or supporting role?
Earl is a supporting role, serving as Jenna's husband and the show's central obstacle.
Who wrote the music for Waitress?
Sara Bareilles composed the music and lyrics for Waitress.
Think you can name today's mystery character in eight guesses?
Play today's Character Guesser