Review: WAITRESS THE MUSICAL at A.C.T. of CT

Deep in the winding paths of Ridgefield is one of the best theaters you probably never knew existed: A.C.T. of Connecticut (A Contemporary Theatre of Connecticut). Its production of the hit musical Waitress The Musical will blow you away with its exceptional directing, performances, choreography, and set design.

The show is about waitress and master pie chef Jenna (Abigail Sparrow) who finds herself unexpectedly and unhappily pregnant after she had sex while drunk with her abusive husband Earl (Cody Jenkins). Her colleagues and good friends Becky (Amma Osei*) and Dawn (Shaylen Harger*) are there to support her as she makes hard choices about her future. Shortly after meeting her charming (but married) gynecologist Dr. Jim Pomatter (John Alejandro Jeffords*), she has an affair with him. This passion spreads to the diner where the married Becky has a fling with the married diner manager Cal (Joseph Torello*), and geeky Dawn uses an online dating platform to look for Mr. Right – Ogie (Wesley Slade*), a fellow history buff and all-around goofball. When the diner’s elderly and curmudgeonly owner, Joe (David Stitler*) learns about Jenna’s pregnancy, he encourages her to enter a local pie-baking contest that has a cash prize large enough for her to start a new life without Earl.

Rounding out the cast are Tara Forseth* as Mother, Ariana Valdes* as Nurse Norma, Maeve Marbury as Lulu, and ensemble players Kai Horvit, Lauren Marut, Val Moranto, Jason Ivan Rodriguez, Justin Waite, and Christopher Brian Williams.* Swings are Raúl Calderón and Liz Davis* (who is also the dance captain).

The book itself could have been stronger with characters that have more depth, but the rest of the show is so winning it’s easy to forgive Nelson for her softness. Becky’s zingers and the way Osei delivers them are priceless. One is on feeling sexually neglected because of her bedridden older husband – “It’s so quiet down there you can hear an echo.” In a short time, you embrace Ogie’s quirky personality. And the names Jenna gives her creative pies will inspire you when you bake pies this summer. Hers include Mermaid Marshmallow Pie, The Pursuit of Happiness Pie, A Little Wild, Wild Blueberry Pie, and Where There’s a Will There’s a Way Pie. Once you’ve seen Waitress, there’s no future for just plain apple pie anymore.

Sara Brians’s direction and choreography are as good as anything you will see on Broadway, only better at A.C.T. because of its more intimate venue. She created a ballet to the words sugar, butter, and flour which pop up in various parts of the play, and you are mesmerized by the way Jenna pours them artfully yet naturally into the mixing bowl. You can even see the fairy dust of the flour as Jenna prepares the pies. She is as skilled and expert a director as Jenna is a pie chef, and the proof is in how she gave each performer a chance to shine. Kudos also to Katie Girardot* as the ambitious and demanding production’s stage manager and fight captain.

Kristen Martino’s scenic design is stunning and brilliant. She recreated a retro looking diner with sunny yellow furniture, two tall pie racks, a pie display case, and counter, and easily accommodates the moving scenery of Jenna and Earl’s living room, the gynecologist’s office, and the hospital room. Dalton Hamilton’s lighting design is perfect for each vignette, as is Shannon Slaton’s sound design. Leslie Bernstein’s costumes are crisp and picture-perfect and Carissa Thorlakson’s wigs are very natural looking. Music Director Nicholas Connors has a live orchestra with him and Nathan Perry on keyboards, Nicklas Dickerson on guitar, Caitlin Thomas on guitar and cello, Sherisse Rogers on bass, and Darcy Macrae on percussion. Dennis J. Arcano is the synth programmer. It would be nice, though, to have the orchestra a bit softer at times to better hear the performers’ glorious singing.

Tickets are sold out, so get on the waiting list and cross your fingers that the show’s run can be extended past June 22. Meanwhile, visit past shows on www.actofct.org.

June 6 is the annual gala which will honor Kristin and Darren Beylouni and Allison Stockel. Although the gala is sold out, you can bid on auction items online. A.C.T. of CT will announce next year’s season, and season tickets will be available the following week. Single tickets will be available in August, but you will want to secure your seats with season tickets to avoid missing anything next year.

A.C.T. of CT is located at 236 Old Quarry Road in Ridgefield. The administrative office can be reached at (475) 215-5433 and the box office at (475) 215-5497.

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