Serving up a delightful musical in Waitress
The AJN reviews the musical Waitress and finds there’s plenty to enjoy in this heartfelt show which has just had its Australian premiere in Melbourne.
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.
Rob Mills, another seasoned stage performer with recent roles in Hairspray and & Juliet, offers plenty of nice-guy charm and comic athleticism as Dr Pomatter, Jenna’s new doctor. Her medical check-ups rapidly spiral into a love affair.
Veteran stage and screen performer John Waters makes a cameo as elderly diner owner Joe and delights fans with his fine singing voice. And John Xintavelonis give a good performance as the diner’s grumpy but kind-hearted cook Cal.
The six-member band performs from the back of the stage, but on occasions the musicians move into the spotlight.
Waitress is a musical with a nice mix of drama, love affairs and relationship issues that produce some surprising twists. There is plenty of humour, cleverly choreographed on-stage pie-making scenes and powerful musical numbers.
Waitress is at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne until July 19, then at Sydney Lyric Theatre from August 1. Bookings: https://waitressthemusical.com.au