Waitress was a 2007 indie rom-com starring Kerri Russell in the lead role of Jenna Hunterson. At the time it had a small following with fans of it saying it was charming and humorous.  Ever since to # MeToo movement has happened. This film has taken on a deeper meaning for a lot of women. It makes sense that it would spawn a Broadway play of the same name.  Adrienne Shelly was the writer and director of the film and she served as a creative consultant on Waitress: The Musical.

Waitress: The Musical is pretty much set up the same way as the film. It’s set in Joe’s Pie Diner where Jenna Hunterson (Sarah Bareilles), Becky (Charity Angel Dawson), Dawn (Caitlin Houlahan), and Cal (Eric Anderson) all work for Old Joe (Dakin Matthews) serving customers and talking gossip. They get into each other’s business and try to help one another sort out their problems. Whether it be dating issues, marital issues, or just how to break a certain piece of news to one of their significant others.

Similar to the film the play focuses mainly on the Jenna character and her relationship with her husband Earl (Joe Tippett, Monarch Legacy of Monsters) he doesn’t treat her very well and when he loses his job he gets very demanding, and starts to be very abusive to her. When she visits a new young OB/GYN Dr. Jim Pamatter (Drew Gehling) at her doctor’s office flames start to fly. These two hit it off right away. The problem is they’re both married and this would be hard to explain. Bareilles’s character has trepidations about cheating on her husband with this good-looking young doctor. Add it to the fact that she’s pregnant. That makes things all the more difficult for her to come to a decision. 

Waitress the film used pies as a metaphor to say what was going on in the characters ‘ minds. They would come up with various Pie names to fit the situation they were in and the Musical does the same. Various Pie names refer to how they feel about their husbands and possibly dating someone, or even how they feel about their jobs and co-workers. As a bonus, there is a chalkboard with a daily Pie special and it changes with the mood of the story. The pies play an integral part in the story.

The Musical has an event that drives the story a lot. A pie contest that has a $25,000 cash prize is the main reason the character played by Bareilles jumps into gear with the help of her friends and co-workers. This shows she can stand on her two feet and she doesn’t need her husband in her life anymore. She can be a single mother going forward without the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband. This story serves a good purpose in this regard. Which I’m sure a lot of people will get behind.

With this being a Musical there are a lot of songs that move the narrative forward. The songs are good but not great. A couple stand out as catching but most are wordy and don’t have much of a hook. The music is mostly just OK and serves to move the story forward but doesn’t have much of a hook to lure the audience in. I found a couple of them enjoyable in the context of the production. Till the Sun Don’t Shine You’ll Still Be Mine and I Love You Means You’re Not Getting Rid Of Me and It’s a Bad Idea Me and You are a few of the more catchy songs from the musical.

Waitress:The Musical takes a lot of what was so special about the film and expands on it. The director and music choreographers Brett Sullivan, Jessie Nelson, and Diane Paulus brought this musical from Bareilles and Nelson vividly to life. The stage production. The movement of props and sets was very well done. The two main sets, the diner and doctor’s office fit together nicely in the context of the film. This was a well-done production all the way around. 

Waitress:The Musical expands on the movie of the same name nicely. It keeps the southern country feel while telling a story that is very relevant in today’s society. The original cast was quite good with Bareilles as the main standout. The songs were OK with a few that were catchy and had me singing along. The comedy aspects were good but I feel lost in translation with me not being in the audience. Overall this was a nice progression of the film and I enjoyed it for the most part. Even though I felt hungry from seeing all those delicious pies in front of my eyes for over two hours.

Waitress: The Musical Opens thThursda December 7th in theaters

3 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen