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Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. Waitress Also see Susan's review of The Bedwetter
To begin with, Dodge is working with an ingenious design team. Chen-Wei Liao's scenic design allows set pieces to emerge and disappear through trap doors on the stage; a free-standing counter in a diner morphs into a doctor's examining table; and seven musicians led by Christopher Youstra perform from the platform of a flatbed truck parked upstage behind a chainlink fence. Minjoo Kim's lighting design picks up on each emotional shift, and Sarah Cubbage's costumes range from naturalistic to hilarious. The musical by Sara Bareilles (music and lyrics) and Jessie Nelson (book), based on the 2007 movie written and directed by Adrienne Shelly, uses the main character's natural affinity for baking as both a symbolic and realistic form of liberation. Jenna (MALINDA) is a waitress in her small Southern hometown whose unique and inventive pies keep people coming back to Joe's Pie Diner. However, Jenna married young, and her husband Earl (Greg Twomey) is a domineering and insecure jerk. Her accidental pregnancy has driven Earl to try to control her even more heavily, but she has support from her fellow waitresses (Ashley D. Nguyen and Allison Blackwell) and Joe (Bobby Smith), the plain-spoken owner of the diner. Another complication is that Jenna's doctor has retired and the new one, Dr. Pomatter (David Socolar), is disconcertingly attractive. MALINDA is a stellar talent who succeeds at portraying comedy, pathos and determination without a false moment. Her performance of "She Used to Be Mine" is very powerful. Socolar is boyishly attractive as he and MALINDA share a fantasy pas de deux, Smith makes Joe both hilariously forthright and ultimately moving, and Nguyen and jaded Blackwell provide strong support. Sam C. Jones, as Nguyen's unlikely love interest, bursts onto the stage with a knockout introductory number. Waitress runs through April 6, 2025, at Olney Theatre Center, Roberts Mainstage, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney MD. For tickets and information, please call 301-924-3400 or visit www.olneytheatre.org. Book by Jessie Nelson Cast: |
