Review: WAITRESS’ Down Under Debut makes for a thoroughly yummy affair

Australian musical theatre lovers have been eagerly awaiting this day, when ‘Waitress’ would finally clock in down under, ten years after it first set up shop on Broadway, to great acclaim from audiences for its originality and deeply human story. What director Diane Paulus and the creative team have served up is a charming, wholesome, resoundingly fun slice of life.

Adapted from the 2007 film, Waitress peers into the plight of Jenna, a talented baker exercising her gifts as a roadhouse waitress. The plot slams us into drama: Jenna is pregnant to her cruel husband Earl, and despite the support of her colleagues Becky and Dawn, she is determined to follow her fate to its bitter end, running away into the mind-world of “sugar, butter, flour”. Her married obstetrician Dr Pomatter, aids this escape by pursuing her romantically and kicking off a steamy affair. The book dutifully permits Becky and Dawn their own sidequests, meek Dawn into finding love, bawdy Becky into an affair of her own. All the while, a crotchety customer looks on as another source of encouragement for Jenna to make use of her baking skills in a local competition with a bizarrely large prize pool which may help her throw money at her problem and extricate herself from it. The plot polishes itself up pretty much exactly how you think it will, but somehow that doesn’t distract from how satisfying this show is; it is high-calorie Americana plated up with just the right amount of spice (see decidedly naughty Act I closer ‘Bad Idea’).

Natalie Bassingthwaite brings an earnestness and flickering hauntedness to Jenna that leant beautifully into the last-chance pathos of the story and enabled her to make best use of her genuine vocal talent. She is well-backed by the power of Gabriyel Thomas and Mackenzie Dunn as her high-camp sidekicks, Dunn’s turn in ‘When He Sees Me’ being a highlight of the night, and Thomas’ moxie and striking realism cleansing the palette every time she’s on stage. John Waters charms as Joe in spite of his ornery character, ‘Take it from an Old Man’ catching many audience members right in heart. For all his vocal strengths, the choice of Rob Mills’ merry-andrew characterisation of Dr Pomatter rung slightly off-key, and while Keanu Gonzalez gave great villain, the extremities of both male leads didn’t feel earthed enough to keep the stakes high, or do justice to the reality of what genuine peril men like them bring to the lives of women like Jenna - and Waitress’ original writer Adrienne Shelly. Gareth Isaac is an audience favourite as the peculiar Ogie, and he has the performance chops to earn such a title (in spite of how uncomfortable ‘Never Ever Getting Rid of Me’ as an I-Want song is in a more consent-conscious world). Elandrah Tavares is a consummate scene-stealer, highly commendable both as the saucy Nurse Norma and with the vibrancy she brought to her part in the ensemble, who take to the musical numbers with eurythmic enthusiasm. 

The execution of Scott Pask’s set is a highlight; keeping scene transitions agile and modular while providing a wonderful crystallised visual, making this little world we’ve sat down in all the more nuanced, familiar and fun. Ken Billington’s lighting demonstrates a powerful restraint, enabling the direction to shine, and the warmth of the story to shine through. The on-stage band, a phenomenon we’ve seen championed by musical directors like Victoria Falconer, leans perfectly into the homespun, intimate nature of Waitress, directed here by Geoffrey Castles who managed to overcome some small mix challenges and do more than justice to Sara Bareilles’ iconic music.

Like Jenna’s pies, Waitress is exactly what ticketholders want and need it to be; its penchant for the saccharine does not compromise the potency of ‘She Used to be Mine’, Joe’s card, and Becky’s acceptance of her own romantic glass ceiling. The discourse around the casting of the production brings into sharp relief the need for examination of how audiences are engaging in the artform and how producers are investing in the infrastructure of artists. I personally wish that the choice to recreate Jenna with a fantastic 50 year old actress was leant into even further with the casting around her, authentication of her character’s stakes, and groundedness of her romantic prospects. Take a break from the brutality of actual America with the delightful romp of ‘Waitress’, at Her Majesty’s Theatre until July, then opening at Sydney Lyric in August.

Photo Credit: Jeff Busby

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