EMPIRE THEATRE, LIVERPOOL – UNTIL SATURDAY 14TH MAY 2022
REVIEWED BY MIA BOWEN
4****
Waitress the musical directed by Diane Paulus, premiered last night at the Empire Theatre, as part of a national tour. It is based on the 2007 film of the same title. It has all the ingredients you could wish for; romance, comedy, an outstanding score and a stunning set design. It honestly is a very comical show with some very dark moments, delving into some serious issues including domestic abuse and adultery.
The story centres around Jenna (Chelsea Halfpenny), a diner waitress and extraordinary pie maker, whose life falls apart when she discovers she is pregnant with her abusive husband, Earl (Tamlyn Henderson). Jenna yearns for bigger things and dreams of winning a pie baking contest which will give her the money and opportunity to leave her husband, who exerts repressive control and financial abuse. Things get tricky when she falls for the charming but married gynaecologist, Dr Pomatter (Matt Jay-Willis) during her first antenatal appointment. With the help of her friends Becky (Wendy Mae Brown), Dawn (Evelyn Hoskins), Cal (Christopher D Hunt) and owner of the diner Joe (Michael Starke), Jenna must overcome her obstacles to realise her dream.
This production has a way of making you fall in love with each and every character. In fact the whole cast was phenomenal. Nurse Norma (Scarlet Gabriel) needs a special mention as she almost steals the show as she hilariously and continuously interrupts Dr Pomatter and Jenna in many compromising situations. The grumpy diner owner, Joe gives a poignant performance of ‘Take It From An Old Man’ and I instantly fell in love with him. One of the most loveable characters is Ogie (George Crawford), he is outrageous and an absolute delight to watch!
There were some very tender moments during the production, Henderson and Halfpenny’s performance of ‘You Will Still Be Mine’ and Halfpenny’s execution of ‘She Used To Be Mine’ almost had me in tears. Waitress asks larger questions about life – how happy is happy enough?
As soon as the giant cherry pie stage curtain lifts, you feel immersed in an American diner with Scott Pask’s set design. With the mixture of Lorin Latarro’s choreography and Ken Billington’s lighting design, you experience some overwhelming emotions, especially when Jenna day dreams.
This was one of the quickest and loudest standing ovations I have seen, everyone was up and cheering