Now celebrating its 10th year, Waitress returns to fill Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall with the delicious scent of baking pies, and a musical that’s equal parts emotional, witty and bittersweet...
All the elements of Waitress are perfectly combined like sugar, butter, flour, baked together by a ground-breaking female-led creative team. Book by Jessie Nelson is adapted from Adrienne Shelley’s 2007 film, lifting the story from screen to stage with all the best familiar moments. Tony award-nominated music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles are sweet, catchy and heartfelt throughout, each song building the story and giving insight into each character.
Direction by Diane Paulus and choreography by Lorin Latarro work together to create seamless staging; this is a show that’s either in constant motion (Opening Up, Bad Idea) or captivating stillness (What’s Inside, What Baking Can Do), with every number tightly choreographed and completely fluid.
Down-trodden pie waitress Jenna is played by Carrie Hope Fletcher, whose vast on-stage resume includes leading roles in Les Misérables, Heathers, The Addams Family and Cinderella. Fletcher demonstrates great control over her powerful voice in solos (She Used to be Mine), while harmonising beautifully in group numbers (A Soft Place to Land).
Taking on the role of the awkward, infatuated Dr Pomatter is West End regular Dan Partridge, whose flailing limbs and nervous energy in It Only Takes a Taste and Bad Idea are counterbalanced with a peaceful calm in You Matter to Me.
Without over-egging the plot, Waitress is a show that allows all of its supporting characters to shine. Evie Hoskins returns as the sweet but anxious Dawn, and is just as delightful as remembered. Reprising the role from the West End and UK tour, Hoskins continues to be a favourite on stage with her frantic movements and adorable southern twang, wowing with her solo When He Sees Me.
Even more charming is Dawn’s romance with the eccentric Ogie, perfectly played by Mark Anderson. The old-school slapstick of Never Ever Getting Rid of Me is juxtaposed with a sweetness that shines through as their relationship blossoms, adding a layer of transition we don’t see on-screen in the film that serves as the source material.
Sandra Marvin garners many of the plentiful laughs from the audience as Becky, while showcasing the character's depth in solo I Didn’t Plan It. And Mark Willshire’s portrayal of Jenna’s selfish, possessive husband Earl gives a roundedness to the character in You Will Still Be Mine that makes him all the more real.
Waitress is a show that draws as many laughs as it does tears, culminating in the emotional high of Everything Changes and a joyful reprise of Opening Up. With heart, heat and humour, it delivers on the promise carried by the sweet scent filling the lobby before the first number even begins.
Waitress is showing at the Royal Concert Hall from Monday 10 to Saturday 25 August.
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