STORY
Waitress the Musical – West End
Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
Duration
165 minutes
Age Restrictions
10+ years
Britain might not share America’s pie-loving tradition, but there’s no doubt it believes in bakery as a force for good. That might be why Sara Bareilles’ twisted romcom of a tuner – another big Broadway hit setting up shop in London – found an immediate audience in the West End. With a cult score that pulled in a large fanbase online, Waitress dishes up a musical theatre treat.
Based on the hit indie film written by the late Adrienne Shelly in 2007, Waitress tells the deceptively cute story of a small-town restaurant server stuck in an abusive marriage. Only Jenna Hunterson finds an outlet for her emotional agonies in baking – specifically pie-making – translating every tricky situation into a themed pastry filling: the choicest cherries for a Sweet Victory Pie, sharper fruits for her ‘Berry the Bullshit’ speciality. She’s one of the most loveable characters in musical theatre.
When Jenna becomes unexpectedly pregnant, she embarks on an extramarital affair with her gynaecologist Dr Jim Pomatter – one that puts her safety at risk should the secret come out. Encouraged by her boss Cal and her colleagues at the diner, Jenna enters a local pie-baking competition, eyeing the prize money as an opportunity to leave her marriage and break free from the town – only life’s rarely as sweet as it seems and it’s almost never as easy as pie.
Bareilles’ score is stuffed with quirky appeal, and she fills Jessie Nelson’s self-aware book with screwball numbers about pregnancy tests, unwanted conceptions and abusive spouses – but it builds to a big soaraway belt number in ‘She Used to Be Mine,’ a passionate lament for female empowerment.
As musicals go, it’s morally complex, with every character conflicted or compromised in some way. Diane Paulus’ production gives the whole thing a gloss, and a sprinkling of star performances, including pop star Lucie Jones, add a dusting off glamour. But if that all makes Waitress looks cutesy, even soft in the centres or a little pie-eyed, it’s not. Beneath its sugary surface, there’s substance to savour.
CREATIVE
Cast and Creative
Cast
Lucie Jones – Jenna
Marisha Wallace – Becky
Ashley Roberts – Dawn
David Hunter – Dr. Pomatter
Peter Hannah – Earl
Shaun Prendergast – Joe
Stephen Leask – Cal
Blake Harrison – Ogie
Kelly Agbowu – Nurse Norma
Piers Bate – Ensemble
Nicole Raquel Dennis – Ensemble
Chris McGuigan – Ensemble
Olivia Moore – Ensemble
Nathaniel Morrison – Ensemble
Charlotte Riby – Ensemble
Michael Hamway – Swing
Sarah O’Conner – Swing
Leanne Pinder – Swing
Mark Willshire – Swing
Juliette Clemens-Lary – Lulu
Annabelle Jones – Lulu 2
Creative
Jessie Nelson – Book
Sarah Bareilles – Music & Lyrics
Diane Paulus – Director
Lorin Latarro – Choreographer
Adrienne Shelley – Film Writer
Nadia DiGiallonardo – Music Supervision
The Waitress Band – Orchestrations
Scott Pask – Set Design
Suttirat Anne Larlarb – Costume Design
Ken Billington – Lighting Design
Jonathan Deans – Sound Design
Richard Mawbey – Hair design
Nancy Harrington – Associate Director
Abbey O’Brien – Assistant Choreographer
David Grindghog – Casting
Rosamund Cranmer – General Manager
B.J. Holt – Intl General Manager
Steven Hill – Orchestral
Barry & Fran Weissler – Producers
Norton & Elayne Herrick – Producer
Alecia Parker – Executive Producer
David Berley – Producer
Peter May – Executive Producer
Tamar Climan – Producer
Michael Roiff – Producer
Ken Schur – Producer
42nd.Club – Producer