Sara Bareilles’ hit Broadway musical “Waitress“ kicked off the Skylight Music Theatre’s 65th season of musical theatre this October. The theatre, located at 158 N Broadway, is the first in the Midwest to show “Waitress.”
“Waitress,” co-directed by Trey Compton and Lisa Shriver, follows Joe’s Diner employee and pie expert Jenna (Julia Levinson), whose life is thrown for a loop when she becomes pregnant with her lazy, abusive husband’s baby. Earl (Jared Brandt Hoover) and Jenna got married young, but Jenna’s co-workers/best friends, Dawn (Alex Merkel) and Becky (Raven Monique Dockery) beg her to leave him.
Jenna falls into an affair with her also-married gynecologist, Dr. Pomatter (Matthew Kacergis), and works to save up money to enter a pie competition. She dreams of taking the prize money, leaving Earl, and starting a new life for her and her baby.
According to Dawn, Jenna is “the queen of kindness and goodness,” and the musical follows her as she learns to treat herself with the same kindness with which she treats others. Through powerful ballads, like the iconic “She Used to Be Mine,” and the sweet guitar trio, “A Soft Place to Land,” the audience watches as she reflects on her hard upbringing, imperfections and the dreams that keep her going.
Each song in this show is more fun than the last. The brilliant “Opening Up,” welcomes us to the world of Joe’s Diner, where “some things never change.” Songs like “Club Knocked Up,” which plays as Jenna enters the doctor’s office for her first visit, and “Never Ever Getting Rid of Me,” which the hilariously awkward Ogie (Brade Bradshaw) sings to Dawn after their first date, are played for laughs but are so clever and beautifully sung that you can’t help but feel moved.
While Levinson’s portrayal of Jenna was nothing short of fabulous, the side characters are what made me love seeing this show. Watching Dawn overcoming her fears of intimacy in “When He Sees Me,” and eventually finding love in Ogie in “I Love You Like a Table,” as well as the lovable Joe (Robert A. Zimmerman,) owner and loyal customer of Joe’s Diner, and Cal (Andrew Valera), the pestering head cook, make “Waitress'” two and a half hour run time fly by.
While I was obviously rooting for her to leave Earl, Jenna and Dr. Pomatter’s (not only adulterous but also probably HIPAA-violating) relationship was the only part of the story that left me with a strange taste in my mouth.
When Jenna contradictorily confronts Becky about cheating on her sickly husband with the also-married Cal, Becky responds in “I Didn’t Plan It,” saying “I didn’t plan it / But that’s life / And I’m finally feeling alive / It’s not right, but it’s mine / And it’s finally something to feel.” One might think based on these relationships; life is too short. Go ahead, cheat on your husband!
Toward the end of the show, the heart-wrenching “She Used to Be Mine” looks at Jenna’s moral ambiguity. As Jenna nears the end of her pregnancy, she reflects on her imperfections, her mistakes, and the past version of herself that feels unrecognizable to who she has become.
This song is painfully honest and gives the stage to a voice we don’t often hear from: the scared, reluctant mother-to-be. “And you’re not what I asked for / If I’m honest, I know I would give it all back / For a chance to start over,” Jenna sings to her unborn child at the end of the second verse.
“She Used to Be Mine,” showcases “Waitress'” most powerful and real moment, where the audience sees Jenna as another flawed, but intrinsically good person, just like them, and Levinson’s breathtaking voice and performance bring this song to the next level.
“Waitress” is a modern classic. This show’s cast, directing and ensemble show us why the original is so beloved. The themes of finding one’s inner strength and learning to love the community around them are candid and simple, but also evocative and heartfelt.
“Waitress” will be shown through Oct. 27, and is only a 20-minute bus ride, for ticket information click here. Get ready to treat yourself to an evening of excellent music, live performance and even pie!
This story was written by Annie Goode. She can be reached at [email protected].
