SALT LAKE CITY — Waitress might be one of the best musicals to never win Best New Musical at the Tony Awards. It was up against Hamilton, so it’s an understandable decision, but there is a magic to the show that is near impossible to resist; even with some of the messier elements to the plot. Based on the 2007 movie of the same name, the original Broadway production made history with its all-female creative team.
The original staging is a favorite of many and now memorialized in a professionally captured recording. That in mind, Pioneer Theatre Company’s Utah premiere production manages to be both tribute to the heritage of the show while also entirely its own production. Even with my past experience with the story, I felt like I was watching it again and for the first time.
Plot and Characters
At the heart of Waitress is Jenna (Claire Saunders), the pie-making waitress at a diner who finds out she’s — unfortunately — pregnant. Jenna is in many ways miserable, and unable to work up the nerve to leave her abusive husband, Earl (Brent Thiessen). Jenna’s lack of self worth and financial situation make it hard for her to leave Earl, but an upcoming pie-making competition provides the hope of financial opportunity and the charming Dr. Pomatter (Ben Jacoby) the emotional availability that helps Jenna imagine that there might be more out there for her after all.
Saunders’ Jenna is a dynamic heroine worth rooting for. It would be easy to portray Jenna only as the battered, wounded bird whose life has served her only one difficulty after another, but Saunders gives Jenna great moments of joy and levity, particularly with fellow waitresses Becky (Candice Marie Woods) and Dawn (Lexi Rabadi). Each have their own set of troubles to work through–Becky a husband that is more patient than partner, Dawn the need for stability while she makes tentative steps into the world of online dating.
Waitress Plays at the Simmons Pioneer Memorial through May 17. | Photos: BW Productions.
Key Performances
These are women who support each other and challenge each other while also being distinctly different people that, were it not for the diner, may not ever have landed into each other’s lives. Woods brings great confidence and self-assuredness to Becky, and their powerhouse voice (“I Didn’t Plan It” is incredible) and their comedic timing are a joy. Rabadi’s Dawn is also a delight. She allows Dawn to be neurotic and anxious without being seen as childish overly naive. Her transformation into a confident woman maintains the essence of what makes Dawn who she is. These are each women with complex emotions and choices, and portrayed as such.
As Dr. Pomatter, Jacoby is an immediate audience favorite. He has great physical humor and charm, played to mask the trouble he’s having with the move and busy schedule of his wife, currently doing her residency in the local hospital. The eventual affair between Pomatter and Jenna is a tricky part of the story to tell, perhaps especially so for more conservative theater audiences. Establishing Pomatter as a likable character and good for Jenna is critical, and Jacoby and Saunders each handle the nuances of the relationship extremely well.
Nuanced Direction
Melinda Pfundstein’s direction is particularly strong here, highlighting the way that both Jenna and Pomatter are deeply lonely and in need of being seen by someone who can, at least for a bit, recognize and honor that loneliness. They are good for each other, and the affair is a bad idea. It’s a careful line to walk, but Pfundstein and choreographer Natalie Malotke balance it especially well in “You Matter to Me,” highlighting both the need to be seen, and the need to take a step back from what had been, perhaps, a misinterpretation from each character on what they needed from each other when they met.
Strong Supporting Roles
As Dawn’s internet love, Ogie (Daniel Plimpton) is another standout. His eager determination to win over Dawn is endearing rather than overbearing and helped along by Rabadi’s giddiness over his attempts to win her affection during “Never Ever Getting Rid of Me”.
Aaron Arnell Harrington’s Cal was a surprise favorite for me for the night. His take on the overworked line cook in a diner full of women was original. It was fun to watch some of his harder edges soften throughout the show.
Thiessen’s take on Earl provides an excellent foil to the other men in the show. I was particularly happy to see him give glimpses into why Jenna would fall for Earl in the first place, and why she chooses to stay with him for so long.
Rounding out the leading cast are Marjorie Failing as Nurse Norma – who knows about the affair but nonetheless provides empathetic care to Jenna in key moments – and William Parry as diner owner Joe, the curmudgeon with a heart of gold. Everyone is supported by a particularly stellar ensemble–probably the best I’ve seen on Utah stages all year. Their engaging character work brought the diner to life and made the town seem grounded in reality without seeping too far down the road to Hallmark Christmas Special idealism.
Photos: BW Productions.
Technical Design and Execution
In addition to first rate performances, it’s worth acknowledging the technical skill supporting the story. It’s all well done, but I was particularly taken by the original costumes (designed by Patrick Holt) and by Malotke’s choreography. Rather than mimic the original production, Pfundstein and team pay homage to the spirit of the original while creating a production that is uniquely much its own.
Holt’s costuming, for instance, introduces additional personalization to the waitress uniforms. Dawn’s bright pink shoes and apparent cheap pink box hair dye job with bear earrings stay, as she prefers, exactly the same–until Ogie comes into her life and she introduces a new hairstyle. . .then new shoes. . .then new earrings. Malotke makes excellent use of the ensemble to help highlight the subtext of what characters are feeling but not saying. (It’s especially effective in “When He Sees Me” and “What Baking Can Do”.)
Spilled Filling
There were a few small hiccups on opening night–a couple of flubbed lines, some minor mic troubles, some notes that fell just a touch off key–but absolutely none of that took away from what was an all-around beautiful night at the theatre.
Waitress has a kind of magic about it that both faces the grittier, tougher parts of life head on while infusing you with a healthy amount of laugher and a whole lot of love along the way. I heard laughter and tears in equal measure around me all night. Pioneer Theatre Company produced a show that emphasizes how critical it is that we are there for each other. I suppose I could make a comment about how the show is like a great piece of key-lime pie (both tart and sweet), or maybe apple (a bit spicy, ultimately comforting), or chicken pot pie (hearty enough that you think about your own choices and relationships), but instead I’ll just say: Go see it. It’s delicious.
These reviews are made possible by a grant from the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks program.
