Review: WAITRESS at Schubert Theatre

WAITRESS, the hilarious hit Broadway musical, is playing at The Schubert, New Haven March 4-6, 2022. The Tony-award winning musical based on the 2007 indie film breaks the mold, being the first Broadway musical in history to have women in the four top creative spots (Book by Jessie Nelson, score by Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, choreography by Lorin Latarro and direction by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus.)

Waitress is the story of Jenna, a waitress and innovative pie-maker who works at a small-town diner, but dreams of a way out of town and her abusive marriage. While that elevator pitch may not sound like a comedy, this show is absolutely uplifting: It is all heart and had the audience literally hooting and hollering from start to finish. Waitress tugs at the heart strings with tales of love, motherhood, and friendship. The Waitress tour is every bit as fresh and delightful as ever, serving up all the best ingredients of this fan-favorite musical.

Fans of the original Broadway show will remember the giant pillars of rotating pies that extended from the stage floor all the way to the top of the curtain. Though the Waitress tour's pillars are only half as high and there's no pie at intermission, the superb cast went the extra mile and more than made up for it. The lighting and sets are expertly interwoven into the story, made to feel like every scene change is a graceful whirlwind of movement delivering the same magical feeling of the original.

Jisel Soleil Alyon played leading lady, Jenna, with a much-appreciated depth and presenting layers that I'd missed in previous portrayals. Her velvety voice, which is undeniably beautiful, brought the house down (especially in "She Used to Be Mine") as it was met with thunderous applause.

Dominique Kent (Becky) commands the stage with powerhouse vocals and an unparalleled comedic grip on the audience. From the first moment she walked out on stage, the crowd instantly adored her and I often heard people repeating her one-liners amidst the laughter.

I feel like hooting and hollering is an outdated phrase, but that's exactly what this audience did especially when Cal (Jake Mills), Dawn (Gabriella Marzetta), and Becky (Dominique Kent) were on stage together. The hilarious characters had such a rapport that it made me wish I could go visit Joe's Diner, myself.

David Socolar is sweeter than sugar as Dr. Pomatter and the audience adored him. His earnest demeanor, impressively graceful physical comedy, and beautiful voice captured all our hearts.

Brian Lundy brought a fresh interpretation to the role of Oagie, who ingratiated himself to the audience with perfectly placed gaucheness and surprising physical comedy. The more Lundy leaned into the cringeworthy aspects of his character, the more charming and lovable he became. His numbers were both met with hearty applause and audience members were unable to contain their delight.

Jenna's abusive husband, Earl (Shawn W. Smith), made the audience audibly gasp, but I was particularly impressed with how Smith gave an unexpected humanity to our villain. The diner owner, Joe (Michael R. Douglass), tugged at our heart strings and brought a tear to the eye. Though every character was well-loved in this production, no one can overlook Nurse Norma (Dayna Marie Quincy), who stole the show with her hilarious one-liners.

Waitress tour's ensemble (lead by music director, Alyssa Kay Thompson) performed from side of the stage, except for a few special moments where solo instrumentalists made their way onto the stage to accompany the characters in song. It added a level of poignance and variety each time a soloist (like the double bassist and guitarist) would appear and their performance was a welcome addition.

Waitress is a crowd-favorite with something for everybody. You could take it from me, or better yet, from Sara Bareilles, herself, who was in the audience and posted her praise for the cast on Instagram shortly after the show. The Waitress tour absolutely delivers and I know I definitely want to go back for seconds.

Waitress is playing at The Schubert, New Haven, March 4-6, 2022.

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