Waitress Review

Waitress, written by Sara Bareilles and performed on West End at the Adelphi Theatre, is based on the 2007 film written by Adrienne Shelly which tells the story of a waitress called Jenna who is in an abusive relationship with her husband Earl, falling pregnant and beginning an affair with her doctor as she looks for a way out only to find a pie contest and its grand prize as her chance. I have to be honest; I never listened to or watched Waitress before I went to see it. I only heard about it from my friends and decided it didn't really interest me. I have to admit: I was wrong. I blindly dived head-first into this show with no idea what it was about or what any of the songs sounded like but now, I can't stop obsessing over it!

When I first entered the theatre, the scent of pies engulfed me, already enticing me in the performance. Now, the stage was something else! Cabinets of pies were lined up either side and the set of the diner was formed through a counter upstage right and two tables placed downstage left, with a couple of booths hidden away upstage. The two tables and counter were on individual platforms attached to wiring on the floor to get them offstage smoothly in a scene change. The doctor's office was formed from a small room brought onstage filled with a patient's table and a door for entrances and exits. The show started off in the kitchen, where a small table was placed centre stage for Jenna to make a pie which she then placed in one of the pie cabinets lined up either side of the stage. The ensemble would bring on metal shelving with ingredients and baking resources placed on for Jenna to use, and then they would swiftly be spun offstage.

The performance began with a voice over of just a few simple words: "sugar, butter, flour", which were more effective than it would seem. Each actor's vocals were truly incredible; even though Dawn was meant to be the comedy character, her vocals were my favourite! Don't get me wrong, everybody was flawless but something about the way Laura Baldwin sang 'When He Sees Me' took my breath away. Lucie Jones was definitely fit for the role of Jenna and Sandra Marvin (who we met and was one of the nicest, funniest people I have ever met) played Becky extraordinarily! It can't be easy playing such a horrific character but Tamlyn Henderson played the character of Earl extremely well. My favourite song of the whole show was Ogie's 'Never Ever Getting Rid of Me', performed by Joe Sugg which was comedy gold. When you hear that a YouTuber is going to be performing in a West End show, you become wary but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by Joe's talent. I loved how comedic this performance, based on the serious themes surrounding it, was. The innuendos used through Jenna's pies and witty comments during and outside of songs truly made the performance an enjoyable experience.

Lighting was so aesthetically pleasing! For example, in 'When He Sees Me', whenever Dawn mentioned the desirable aspects of falling in love, a white spotlight focused on her whilst pink lighting engulfed everyone else. When Jenna was in the kitchen baking a pie and singing "butter, sugar, flour", a white spotlight focused on her whilst blue lighting engulfed the chorus around her. To be honest, I was so mesmerised by the singing and storyline that I didn't pay full attention to the lighting but when I did, it truly pleased me.

The costumes were all very simple but very effective. Jenna, Becky and Dawn all wore blue waitress dresses with a white apron wrapped around their waists; Dr. Jim Pomatter wore a white doctor's coat over casual clothing; Earl wore scruffy, casual clothing symbolising his drunk character; Ogie wore a button-up shirt with a bow-tie and trousers pulled up to his waist to show his stereotypical nerdy personality; and the chorus wore casual clothing when acting as customers in the diner but black clothing when they were performing chorus movements. Each chorus movement was intriguing, contributing hugely to the performance as they symbolised the character's emotions.

I was badly mistaken when I thought I wouldn't enjoy Waitress because it was one of the best shows I have ever seen! Next time, I'll be taking my family to see it. Waitress is a fresh breath of air with serious situations accompanied by comedic qualities and astounding songs. A definite recommendation of mine!