Serving up a delightful musical in Waitress

Experienced actor-singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte dominates the stage for most of the musical Waitress, which had its Australian premiere at Her Majesty’s Theatre on May 7. Bassingthwaighte delivers a powerful performance as waitress Jenna, who not only works in the roadside diner in America’s South called Joe’s Pie Diner, but is also the genius behind its range of delicious pies with fancy names.

As Jenna and her fellow waitresses Becky (Gabriyel Thomas) and Dawn (Mackenzie Dunn) serve customers, they relate heartfelt stories of love, fear and heartache, accompanied by engaging and upbeat songs created by singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles.

Jenna is stuck in an abusive marriage to Earl (Keanu Gonzalez) which does not get any better when she suddenly discovers she is pregnant.

Becky dreams of a better life than she currently shares with her husband, while Dawn finally decides to find a boyfriend using a dating app and meets Ogie (Gareth Isaac), whose sensational performance of Never Ever Getting Rid of Me provides one of the musical’s first act highlights.

Bassingthwaighte has enjoyed a long showbusiness career and recently starred in the stage shows Shirley Valentine and Jagged Little Pill. In Waitress her role as Jenna sees her range between sweetness, vulnerability and inner strength, culminating in the show-stopping number She Used to be Mine.