Joe’s Pie Diner serves up delicious savoury and sweet pies, all baked by Jenna. Work is Jenna’s daily distraction from her abusive husband. An unexpected pregnancy means that the walls close in on her wellbeing. She saves up her tips to be able to enter a regional pie-making contest with a large prize fund. But can the contest really save her from misery and distress?
Fear not: if all that sounds a bit negative, the stage musical Waitress – which celebrated its tenth anniversary earlier this year – is a comedy delight as Jenna and her work mates Becky and Dawn navigate new relationships, figure out how to deal with their men, and watch each other’s backs.
Carrie Hope Fletcher playing Jenna demonstrates her huge vocal range and impressive control during the second act
She Used To Be Mine, with a delicate start building to a powerful crescendo as the wings slide back to open up the sky and physically reflect Jenna possible escape route from thoroughly evil Earl (Mark Willshire).
Evie Hoskins and Sandra Marvin from the 2022 tour (reviewed) have returned to the roles of Dawn and Becky. Sniggering Dawn is a ditzy klutz who hooks up with an even more socially awkward historical reenactment fan Ogie (watch out for Mark Anderson’s cartwheel) while caregiver Becky’s cheeky banter with diner manager Cal (Dan O’Brien) disguises the real friction they’re generating in the kitchen after hours.
Performative baking with ingredients strewn all over the floor, an on stage cello (Siobhan Wilson) which adds mellow tones to
It Only Takes A Taste as part of the house band (led by Francesca Warren) who live in the corner of diner (and don tricorn hats at a historically appropriate moment), a flirty gynaecologist (Dan Partridge) who perhaps most hams up his slapstick physicality, the diner’s owner Joe (played by an underpowered Les Dennis who fails to deliver the potential of the crucial second act song
Take It From An Old Man), along with so many witty lines in Jessie Nelson’s dialogue and Sara Bareilles lyrics.
Waitress continues to serve up its empowering slices of musical pie at the Grand Opera House until Saturday 1 August. The standard of singing is is high, though the emotional heft is flatter than the previous touring production.
Photo credits: Matt Crockett and Johan Persson
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