Waitress at the National Theatre is the touring version of the Broadway musical, from the 2007 film of the same name. As the play’s plot is identical to the movie’s, it’s no spoiler to reveal that this feel-good show has a happy ending. Getting there is an exercise in wild mood swings, and since this is the story of the pregnancy of Jenna the waitress (Desi Oakley), that seems wholly appropriate.
Waitress in the Rain
The songs and music are jazz-tinged, some bluesy, none traditional “show tunes.” The band, onstage throughout the play, is allowed to interact with the action. This adds depth to the setting of a small-town Southern diner (the piano doubling as a pie stand). The band members are free to move about the stage, and combinations of instrumentalists accompany the singers, matching the mood of each piece. The singing is uniformly strong, with an outstanding performance by Charity Angel Dawson as Becky, a fellow waitress.
The play is full of clever bits of stage business, and the dancing is spirited – together with the interlocking sets and creative lighting, it’s a true visual feast, a match for the aural one.
Jenna’s pregnancy is unexpected and unwanted, trapping her in her roles as server in Joe’s Pie Diner and wife to the abusive Earl (Nick Bailey). Her main pleasure in life is creating pies, with such metaphorical names as Betrayed-By-My-Eggs Pie and White-Knuckle-Cream Pie, each reflecting her frustrations and expectations of life in the moment of conception. Her emotions are tangled up in sugary creation; her mother, also in an abusive relationship, taught her to bake as an escape from her own misery.
The audience’s strongest reaction is provoked by the arrival of Ogie (Jeremy Morse), another waitress’ boyfriend. He ignites the stage with his exponentially-higher level of energy, stealing every scene he’s in. It’s a shame he doesn’t appear until just before the intermission, but then, he contributes a great deal to keeping the show lively during the second act.
We watch as Jenna pins her hopes of leaving town and starting a new life to winning a pie contest. She takes to hiding part of her wages (which she must daily turn over to Evil Earl) to finance her trip and entry fee. She begins an affair with her gynecologist (leading to a sketchy visual of her legs akimbo, straddling a pie held by the good doctor – a metaphor too far!) But Earl finds her stash, and the minute she enters a scene nine months pregnant with the contest still a week away, everyone can see where this plot is headed. And sure enough, the baby comes before the Hope-Pinned-Upon Pie.
But, guess what? One bonding look at her baby and Jenna finds the agency to tell the vile Earl to take a hike, and, with a little encouragement from her friends, he does! Apparently, Magical Motherhood still works as a plot point in the 21st Century. And another creaky old device, the deus ex machina, in the form of an unexpected gift, finds our heroine in possession of the feel-good, pie-in-the-sky ending to which every musical aspires.
Lobby Retail Opportunities
Waitress, the Musical at the National Theatre thru June 3. Original music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, book by Jessie Nelson, choreography by Lorin Latarro, directed by Diane Paulus.
