Finally, after being deprived of theatre for so long, it felt such a relief to be back in a packed-out theatre again. Having read so many five star reviews of a musical which had it's West End debut in 2019, with a groundbreaking female lead cast - Jenna, an expert pie-maker who dreams of some happiness in her life - (Lucie Jones - Legally Blonde, Rent, Waitress, Les Miserables, The Wedding Singer), and workmates Becky (Sandra Marvin - Emmerdale, Waitress, Showboat, Hairspray) and Dawn (Evelyn Hoskins - Waitress, The Sound of Music Live, Carrie), along with Matt Willis (Busted, Wicked) as the hot new doctor in town, I was keen to grab a slice of the action.
The music is “one of the best scores in years” and was written by Grammy Award-winning Sara Bareilles (Love Song, Brave) with a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam) and direction by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, Finding Neverland). All of this should be the recipe to something perfect, but like a pie, this musical takes time to heat up (metaphorically speaking). Whilst it’s a slow starter it definitely gets better as the storyline progresses, and definitely hits the spot by the second act.
Jenna, a talented pie maker, deals with tough situations by imagining them as pie ingredients, but what she doesn’t know as the story starts, is she’s about to face her toughest challenge yet. Having learnt all she knows about baking from her late mother, Jenna currently works as a pie creator and waitress at a Southern American diner, 'Joe’s Diner'. Stuck in an abusive marriage with drunken husband Earl (Tamlyn Henderson), her dream is to one day escape and set up her own pie business.Her work colleagues also have their own issues to deal with. Becky is suddenly all mysterious and it doesn’t take long to find out what she’s been hiding from Dawn and Jenna. Dawn - a quiet geek and war reenactment fanatic, is unlucky in love but confesses to her colleagues that she’s set up an online dating profile and has a five minute date (so if he’s disappointing or vice versa it won’t be awkward as it’s been agreed as a five minute date). Ogie (George Crawford), however seems to be the missing ingredient in Dawn’s life (although she doesn’t see that at first) and sharing the same interests, the pair are made for each other, in the same way rhubarb and custard compliment each other.
When Jenna goes to the Doctors to confirm she’s pregnant after a drunken night with her husband, she meets Dr. Pomatter - a hot young doctor, replacing the now retired female doctor who delivered Jenna as a baby. Unsure at first if she wants him as her doctor, the pair soon bond over a pie she brought for her previous doctor.
Whilst 'Waitress' is indeed made of the finest ingredients - three strong female characters leading the storyline, music by a Grammy Award winner, a book and Indie film of the same name prior to the screen-to-stage adaptation, but like peanut butter and jelly (jam to us Brits), somethings don’t always go together despite what others might think. Waitress is a perfect example of this.
There’s a real mixture of drama, comedy and romance as well as touching on the sensitive topic of domestic abuse. It’s also very raunchy in places and should come with a health warning!
All the key ingredients are there: strong cast, award-winning musician etc, but mix it all together and it still feels like something is missing. I kept waiting for a “wow” moment - the same “wow” you’d get from the smallest bite of the best ever homemade apple pie - but what I actually got was something that looked amazing on the outside but left me feeling like that special ingredient was missing. The storyline itself was satisfying enough but it certainly didn’t leave me wanting more.
For me the most memorable performances come from the perfectly blended couple Ogie (George Crawford) and Dawn (Evelyn Hoskins). Dawn is bland and often monotonous which Evelyn just makes the role more comical with her facial expressions and particularly when trying to push Ogie away - until she realises he’s the cream to her pie and he wows her with another of his geeky hobbies - clog dancing! - and the pair later get adventurous in their joint interest in war reenactments. I wasn’t sure about Matt Willis as Dr. Pomatter at first - but he grew on me the more we got to know the character and you could really feel the heat in the two characters' affair - even from the back of the stalls; so steamy even my spectacles were steamed up!
Every single role I’ve seen Jones, Marvin and Hoskins perform in [at least three other big musicals each], they’ve been absolutely outstanding. 'Waitress' was no different only it left me feeling like “this isn’t giving the audience the best taste of their talents” and no matter how fresh their performance and portrayal of their characters, for me personally there’s just a magic ingredient missing in this particular musical. I kept waiting for some outstanding song; as heart-warming as Jones’s rendition of “She Used To Be Mine”, there was still something missing for me.
Overall it’s definitely worth seeing, I can’t fault the cast at all. Maybe it’s one of those that tastes better the more helpings you have? I certainly hope so.
Reviewer - Lottie Davis-Browne
on - 28.9.21
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