What's Inside 'Waitress'?
William Statham
- OnStage New York Columnist
Step one foot inside the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway recently and the sweet aroma of homebaked pie instantly ignites the senses. Suddenly you're taken to a place of comfort, home, and mama. You begin to float to your seat and as you gaze at the stage in your olfactory hypnosis, the sight of pies spinning in their display cases catches your eye. And this is all happening before the curtain even goes up on the new musical Waitress, by Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson.
The musical is based off of the movie of the same name which starred Keri Russell. Jenna (Tony Award-winner Jessie Mueller) lives in a small town. She has two close friends, Becky (Keala Settle) and Dawn (Jenna Ushkowitz). The three work at the town diner and this waiting trio could be considered the Three Musketeers of the dining industry, much to the chagrin of their taskmaster boss (Eric Anderson). The friends help coach each other with their relationship woes, even helping Dawn go on her first date with an eccentric online love connection, Oggie (Jeremy Morse at the performance I attended). Jenna is famously known among her diner patrons for her heavenly delicious original pies. However, we soon learn that Jenna has an unexpected "surprise" of her own baking in the oven. What will Jenna do though? She's not quite ready for the onslaught of new motherhood. Her friends rally around her to try to convince Jenna to face this head on, but she is conflicted; mostly because of her abusive husband Earl (Nick Cordero). The only "babies" Jenna has are her late mother's pie recipes that were handed down to her.
Photo: Joan Marcus
We soon find out that Joe (Dakin Matthews), the owner of the diner, recently came across a pie contest in the local paper where the grand prize is $20,000. Jenna soon realizes there's a bigger prize at stake here however: freedom from her husband. Before Jenna gets carried away, however, she has to confront her newfound pregnancy. Enter her new gynecologist, Dr, Pomatter (Drew Gehling) a fresh albeit nervous, post-med grad from Connecticut. Things between Jenna and her new doctor are awkward at first, until they have an exchange at a bus stop. A spark is lit and the two cautiously dance around one another each time Jenna has her routine checkups. Each time she comes, she draws him in closer with a new pie, each one more unique than the last. But Dr. Pomatter is married, as is Jenna. As they say, "there's the rub."
Under any other circumstances in this most recent Broadway season, Waitress (without question) would have swept the Tony Awards and all other theatre award ceremonies. There's just that pesky little skit about one of the founding fathers that trumped that.
There are two important points to be made about Waitress: its message and its significance as a piece of art. So what is the message of this jewel box gem of a production? Jenna has been an unfortunate victim of love her entire life. How? Her father abused her loving mother and didn't show her any love. She lost maternal love when her mother died. She married a man who is obsessed with her but who she, herself, does not love. Love has failed her at every turn. Now comes Dr. Jim Pomatter who is offering her love at last but who cannot fully give her the kind of love she deserves. The message that we get from Jenna's story (and that she thankfully finds for herself) is she must first love herself and that, alone, is more than sufficient.
What struck me the most about Waitress was how much the show, as a whole, represented one of the primary themes of the show: pie. With Diane Paulus' precision directing and Lorin Latarro's seamlessly fluid choreography, the show was beautifully layered. All of the ingredients came together beautifully from the sweet aroma wafting into the house of the Barrymore to the amazingly talented cast. From the sweet-sounding earthy onstage band that weaved in and out of the story to the gorgeous melodies of Sara Bareilles' score.
As for the cast, special attention must be paid to the brightest star currently lighting up a Broadway stage: Jessie Mueller. Ever since her role in the ill-fated 2011 revival of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, and going on to star in such shows as her Tony-winning turn as Carole King in Beautiful, Jessie has solidified her place as a bonafide Broadway star. Drew Gehling is the most endearing, honest and heartfelt doctor I've ever seen. His tenderness and awkward vulnerability were such relieving qualities to see in a leading man. The "ooohs" and "awwws" coming from the women in the audience were evidence of their pulling for him to win Jenna's heart the whole performance. Jenna Ushkowitz as the wide-eyed, at times nerdy Dawn was quite a pleasant surprise for someone like me who has only seen one episode of "Glee." She more than holds her own in this cast of dynamites. Jeremy Morse was on as Oggie (normally played by Chris Fitzgerald, who was Tony-nominated for this role) and within ten seconds, you see why. The part (the comedic relief for the show along with his partner Dawn) has a beautifully crafted comedic number staged by Paulus that shows Oggie's exuberance and eagerness to win his true love.Of special note is the incomparable Keala Settle who gave me chills during her Act Two opening power song "I Didn't Plan It," where she explains to Jenna that life doesn't always go as planned but she's made the best of her situation. Keala's fiery conviction and vocal chords of steel drive the song across the footlights and into the audience's lap with enough power to shake the Barrymore walls. Dakin Matthews, as Joe, embraces with his warm soul (albeit initial rough exterior as a curmudgeon) and offers a light fatherly touch that we all can identify with.
The passionate ensemble rounds out the cast of characters of the town and deliver a show that you can serve with a dollop of whipped cream and place a cherry on top. The cast often repeats throughout the night Jenna's three essential ingredients: sugar, butter, flour. I think they should add: passion, talent, heart.