WAITRESS Reviews

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

a-mad said: "Am I missing something?

You'd read this thread and assume that their was somehow a death knell for Waitress based on the reviews ("only 2 positive!!!!" )  Huh?  Did I read the same reviews everything else did? "

No you aren't missing something. I don't get where people could see the overall reviews as disappointing for the show. As I said in a previous post, almost all were positive and even the mixed reviews leaned towards positive - and basically all of them said people needed to see Mueller's performance.

I don't see reviews mattering much anyway - they got the pull quotes they needed and they have lots of buzz already. The show has been sold out during previews and the coming months are selling well already. 

[Kad]

Show-Score's aggregate of critic reviews thus far is 78

To put it in perspective, the score of The Color Purple is 82, School of Rock is 72, American Psycho is 62, and On Your Feet is 75.

 

[chanel]

Scroll past NSFW review of James Franco film for nice review of Waitress;

Predictable doings enlivened by quirky presentation...Tasty if not good for the waistline...Mueller terrific...Emo mood songs sound different for Broadway....

http://www.out.com/michael-musto/2016/4/25/james-franco-christian-slater-spice-raunchy-gay-porn-drama

[a-mad]

"Show-Score's aggregate of critic reviews thus far is 78

To put it in perspective, the score of The Color Purple is 82, School of Rock is 72, American Psycho is 62, and On Your Feet is 75."

That's actually pretty damn terrific.

Thanks for posting, Kad.

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Thanks for posting that Kad! That link led me to the NY Post review which was previously not linked here. Elisabeth Vincentelli is positive: http://nypost.com/2016/04/24/women-songwriters-like-sara-bareilles-are-owning-broadway/

[Copperfield2]

I read almost all of the reviews and though the direction has gotten mixed notices, most of them seem to like the show overall, especially Jessie Mueller and the cast as well as the score.

I think Paulus is not a subtle director and her best work was done for Hair and Pippin, and Pippin had a lot of help from the Les Sept Doigts.

I think the show will catch on with audiences, though maybe this show needed a director like Sam Gold who would have kept things more nuanced.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Maybe Diane Paulus should follow into John Doyle and Bartlett Sher's footsteps by sticking with revivals.

[Broadway Forever2]

Kad said: "Show-Score's aggregate of critic reviews thus far is 78

To put it in perspective, the score of The Color Purple is 82, School of Rock is 72, American Psycho is 62, and On Your Feet is 75.

 

 

"

That's really good. Poor American Psycho though. 

[Cupid Boy2]

And with the reviews in, the production announced today its slated to begin its tour in October 2017 in Cleveland.

http://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index.ssf/2016/04/waitress_new_broadway_musical.html

[Up In One]

To put it in perspective, the score of The Color Purple is 82, School of Rock is 72, American Psycho is 62, and On Your Feet is 75."

Don't forget Tuck with a 76!  And Hamilton only got a 97, its not like its perfect.

But the perspective and ranking make sense, the whole field this year needed improvement put were passable and Hamilton is the kind of show that would still hang out with them on the playground.  

[KathyNYC2]

Broadway Forever2 said: "

That's really good. Poor American Psycho though. 

"

I am sorry, any musical theater on Broadway that uses mostly synthesized music deserves a low rating. This is LIVE theater...the entire experience...not just part of it. IMHO.

[Bettyboy72]

Forget the mixed reviews-Waitress is going to be a huge hit. Audiences love archetypes when done well, as this show does. It's why romantic comedies are so popular. People leave the theatre happy. They see themselves in Jessie and relate to a time when they were once stuck and got out of it. People loves sassy best friends and ditzy best friends.

It's a bright, well-designed and well acted show with some very nice music. It's a winner. I will say the caliber of talent elevates the material. It may not play as well with less accomplished performers.

I do agree with the review that says the doctor isn't really dynamic in way that would make him compelling to Jessie, but I can overlook that.

[Call_me_jorge]

^I'd like to point out waitress is one of like 3(?) shows that has a REAL piano and not a stupid keyboard.

[dramamama611]

Bettyboy72 said: "Forget the mixed reviews-Waitress is going to be a huge hit. Audiences love archetypes when done well, as this show does. It's why romantic comedies are so popular. People leave the theatre happy. They see themselves in Jessie and relate to a time when they were once stuck and got out of it. People loves sassy best friends and ditzy best friends.

It's a bright, well-designed and well acted show with some very nice music. It's a winner. I will say the caliber of talent elevates the material. It may not play as well with less accomplished performers.

I do agree with the review that says the doctor isn't really dynamic in way that would make him compelling to Jessie, but I can overlook that.

 

"

I think with the doctor thing, it really isn't ABOUT him.   She needed to feel loved and safe....it could have been a plumber - as long as he was someone that didn't really know her or her predicament.  Right place, right time.

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

dramamama611 said: I think with the doctor thing, it really isn't ABOUT him.   She needed to feel loved and safe....it could have been a plumber - as long as he was someone that didn't really know her or her predicament.  Right place, right time."

I agree with this dramamama. Jenna can't help but be drawn to this person who makes her feel like a human with value. But it's not so much that he is some irresistible stud - that wouldn't work. He allows her to see that maybe there really are possibilities for life outside of her marriage and the diner. For the doctor, I do think it's about Jenna ... he's not even unhappy in his marriage but he finds himself enamored with her. He's kind of awkward and not the most confident guy - they're both vulnerable.

 

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The fact that they don't end up together is such a poignant point of the story. Yes, cheating is wrong, but they really don't want to ruin the lives of everyone around them. "No body count" as Jenna says. She doesn't need a man to be a happy, fulfilled person and he can continue with his life and marriage as it is. They each gave each other some love and confidence when the other needed it and it's over.

 

[ChiTheaterFan]

Yeah I don't understand the reviews that criticize the show because you don't root for her and the doctor as you supposedly should. 

 

 

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I don't think you're supposed to root for them. His wife is sympathetic and their affair was not the right thing for either of them to do. But it gave her the confidence to leave Earl and realize she can survive on her own without a man. Part of the point of the show is that she's fine without ending up with him. 

 

[hushpuppy]

Terry Teachout's review in The Wall Street Journal is scathing (although he praises the cast): 

"It’s a tourist-trap rom-com that has little to offer but Ms. Mueller and her fine supporting cast." 

"Closely based on Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 film and uninterestingly directed by Diane Paulus..." 

"The score is by Sara Bareilles, a not-quite-famous singer-songwriter. Like most such folk, Ms. Bareilles has no notion of how to write for the stage. Her tunes are flat and unmemorably unhummable, and she shoves so many words into each stanza that none of them stand out" 

"It simply isn’t good enough, and though the show will doubtless have a profitable life in regional theater, it’ll take a star as bright as Ms. Mueller to make it worth watching."

http://www.wsj.com/articles/waitress-review-skimpy-on-the-filling-1461619765

[allyk]

I saw the show last Wednesday after seeing it twice in Boston last summer. I thought it was just OK... Nothing special and the changes didn't do much for the show... Nothing was really strengthened by the changes and I thought some of the were unnecessary and the new ending was disappointing. I thought Jessie was great but there was something missing from her performance that I can't put my finger on... I don't know if it was just all the changes in the show that messed wit her character, or her new song (which was average... I liked Door Number Three much better), but there was something that wasn't spot on. I don't see this one lasting much past the summer/January and don't see it doing well on the road, either. 

Oh, and the sound design was better than it was in Boston (where it was absolutely atrocious the first time I saw it and slightly more tolerable the second time as I was sitting in the second row) but it still wasn't great.

For what it's worth, I didn't like Finding Neverland in NYC last year, and I loved it in Boston in 2014. I also saw School of Rock last week (the night before I saw Waitress) and left the Winter Garden smiling from ear to ear and I had the most fun I've had at the theater in a long time.

[VintageSnarker]

Jeez, who peed in Teachout's cereal? The nastiness towards Bareilles is particularly uncalled for.

[Hamish3]

what is with this strange season

[sparepart973]

Great analysis of Waitress and other musicals dealing with domestic violence...

http://www.vox.com/2016/5/13/11516780/waitress-color-purple-domestic-violence-musical-theater

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Thanks for sharing that article. I love Waitress but I have been waiting for someone to take note of the stalker vibe of Ogie's big number (other than those of us here on the board). I think the perception of that song and his nature have improved since Boston - partly because it's a better portrayal by Fitzgerald - and partly because they ensure that he is a nice guy after all. 

I agree with parts of the article, particularly how suddenly Jenna is able to dispatch with Earl in the hospital scene, but I don't expect a big "oh what a horrible person I have been" number from Earl either. That's unrealistic. 

For what it's worth, Diane Paulus said that they had people from Mt Sinai's sexual assault and domestic violence survivor program come and talk to the cast about how people may react to the show. Jessie Mueller has a link to the program in her Playbill bio and they apparently have cards with the SAVI contact info at the stage door for actors to give to anyone who confides in them, which I'm sure has happened. 

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

In case anyone is interested, you can pre-order the Waitress cast recording for $11.99 on iTunes and it will download on June 3. Big bonus, when you do so you get Jessie Mueller's version of She Used to Be Mine instantly. It's beautiful. 

[broadwayboy223]

I've tried getting an answer to this but can anyone elaborate on Laura Benanti's involvement with the development of the show?

[gypsy101]

This thread about Jessie's casting announcement seems to imply she was involved with a reading or something but isn't very specific or even sure it ever happened.

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Yeah I can't provide a concrete link/source but from everything I have gleaned I think Laura was like my involved in an early and informal reading. 

Laura is wonderful but I could never imagine her in this role. Jessie has really embodied it and to me is the perfect casting.