'Waitress' is a new-to-me Musical, with a book by Jessie Nelson and music by Sara Bareilles, which is a winning combination between serious drama and raucous comedy.
The primary storyline concerns a twenty-something waitress in a diner in a town in the southern states of the USA. She has her beauty and her goodness, as well as having a talent passed down from her mother for baking a whole assortment of fantastic pies. There is just one fly sullying this ointment however, her husband, Earl. He is the possessive, jealous, domineering, type, who plays on her delicate emotional state and his physical power to make her afraid of him. In other words, he's a bully and a bad egg. It is this terse drama which - almost Tennessee-Williams-esque - requires a degree of acting not normally associated with the Musical Theatre genre. This relationship is complicated further by an unwanted pregnancy, and then falling madly in love with her married gynaecologist.
The comedy therefore comes primarily from her two colleagues at the diner, two other waitresses, who nicely balance out the story. Both of whom have their own recognisable and humorous characters, and both have a love affair of their own - just to make it clear we are still in Musical Theatre territory!
The comedy therefore comes primarily from her two colleagues at the diner, two other waitresses, who nicely balance out the story. Both of whom have their own recognisable and humorous characters, and both have a love affair of their own - just to make it clear we are still in Musical Theatre territory!
The story might be "sugar" with an as-sweet-as-apple-pie finish, but it never seems to stray too far from the believable and even gives a realistic and credible denouement and ending, rather than one a Hollywood romaticisation might have.
The show relies on a minimalist set and quick changes of locations (par for the course in a modern stage musical.. as every set design is so similar it's hard to tell them apart sometimes!), and the band placed half in, half out of the action on stage left. The music was apt, many of the tunes extremely reminiscent of the central and southern states of the USA, always lyrical and poignant. The one thing which really irritated me this evening more than anything however were the spot lights. The lighting design relied heavily on the use of follow spots - ones which I can only assume were being manually operated, as they were shaking continually throughout the whole show, not finding their marks and casting principals in semi or total darkness whilst singing / acting. Most unprofessional.
The performances themselves however, I am more than happy to report, were superb. There was a lovely chemistry between the three waitresses, and a palpable stiffness in the air when Jenna and Earl were on stage together. Lucy Jones was superb as the pie-baker extraordinnaire, Jenna. and as the central character and obvious centre of focus she was a hugely generous actress and the subtle changes in her character were beautifully observed as she spent stage time with Earl (measured), Dr. Pomatter (16 again!), the other waitresses (relaxed and herself). Dr. Pomatter, played by Matt-Jay Willis (a worthy contestant for a Young Tom Hanks lookalike competition!), played his balance between medical professionalism and bare lust with truth and zest in equal measure; whilst the malevolence-bubbling-under-the-surface and controlling of Earl, played wheedlingly by Nathanael Landskroner made a superb contrast.
Sandra Marvin (Becky) and Evelyn Hoskins (Dawn) made up the threesome of formidable waitresses, and their characterisations were solid and a joy. Becky as no-nonsense straight-talker with an attitude (and a secret lover!), whilst the shy, awkward and geekish Dawn finds true romance with a fellow nerd Ogie, played with a real twinkle in the eye and a sense of fun by George Crawford), whose song towards the end of Act 1, 'Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me' being a personal highlight. And Jones's (Jenna's) last solo piece, 'She Used To Be Mine' was utterly breathtaking earning her the loudest and longest applause of the evening,
There are no big dance numbers, large chorus songs, or showstoppers in this msucial. It is a pared down show in this respect, and was probably written with smaller theatres and budgets in mind; but that didn't stop this company from putting everything they had and more into this production, as the smaller roles and ensemble were all completely on point every time. I enjoyed the subtle, almost unnoticeable movements, clapping, breathing, that the ensemble were required to do throughout; complimenting the storyline, and making it more of a unified piece of theatre in the so doing. The set changes worked less well, as the ensemble were also required to move these in and out too (something which has again become an accepted norm for this theatre genre, and one which this reviewer has mixed feelings about!).
All in all though, this was a fantastic introduction to a new-to-me show. It had everything you could want from a Musical: love, romance, comedy, great songs, relatable and believable characters, but this had an added extra too.. we had high drama - and the acting performances did not in any way disappoint.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 9.11.21
All in all though, this was a fantastic introduction to a new-to-me show. It had everything you could want from a Musical: love, romance, comedy, great songs, relatable and believable characters, but this had an added extra too.. we had high drama - and the acting performances did not in any way disappoint.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 9.11.21
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