Review: WAITRESS, New Wimbledon Theatre - Tour

Photo credit: Johan Persson

For a show that is so beloved by musical theatre devotees the world over, the truth is that Waitress is left exposed by the limitations of its book and a score that shines bright in places, but falters in others.

It can sometimes feel blasphemous to criticise this show. After all, with Sara Bareilles’ music and lyrics and Jessie Nelson’s plot, this is supposed to be a fun, heartfelt love letter to female friendship and self-empowerment. The musical, celebrating its tenth anniversary, has attracted a loyal audience and mounted several successful runs on both sides of the Atlantic, including multiple nationwide tours.

Unfortunately, the material itself does not lend itself to this. The script reads as a middle-of-the-road US sitcom, where the jokes come thick and fast without ever really delivering a punchline.

One issue is that the characters, apart from the lead role of Jenna (played by Carrie Hope Fletcher), are stereotypes. This is epitomised by Jenna’s husband Earl (Mark Willshire), who we are introduced to as a comedy dope, stupid enough to get his own name tattooed on his chest, but soon descends into her physical and psychological tormentor.

The epidemic of male violence towards women, which so often occurs in a domestic setting, is undoubtedly a subject worthy of artistic depiction. Adrienne Shelly, the writer and director of the original 2007 film on which the musical is based, was brutally murdered by a man. 

But Waitress struggles to find the balance between light and dark. A pantomime referencing the town it is performing in with one breath, a gritty kitchen sink portrayal of domestic violence the next.

The pulse of the show is Jenna’s relationship with co-workers Dawn (Evie Hoskins) and Becky (Sandra Marvin) but we never get much of an insight into their friendships beyond a handful of comedic interactions. It would have been useful to see them giving Jenna the support and counsel she needs at her most vulnerable but this never quite materialises in the script.

Then we come to the biggest problem in the show; the male saviours. Jenna, after finding herself pregnant, quickly embarks on an affair with her doctor, Dr Pomatter (Dan Partridge). To reiterate, Jenna is a vulnerable individual. Tossing aside all ethics in what is surely a gross breach of professional trust, Dr Pomatter seduces her - or perhaps she seduces him, with her exquisite pie-making ability.

As an audience, we are cajoled into viewing Dr Pomatter as Jenna’s white knight but the power imbalance feels particularly distasteful. For example, he allows Jenna to worry about spotting to the point that she rushes to the surgery for an early appointment, only for him to tell her there was never anything to be concerned about. They then have sex in his office before his colleagues arrive for work.

We are obviously meant to be cheering the affair on, despite the fact we later learn Dr Pomatter’s wife is totally devoted to him. Perhaps it would be more palatable if he was portrayed as more charming but he seemingly uses Jenna’s vulnerability to take advantage of her. Theatre is littered with problematic, often male, characters and that is fine. Unfortunately, that is a reflection of real life. Here though, we are clearly supposed to be on the side of Dr Pomatter and his romance with Jenna. For a show that first played in 2016, this is at best misguided.

Dawn’s love interest, Ogie, fares little better. He first arrives as her internet stalker, who is hounding her after refusing to take no as an answer after one date. We see Dawn tell him to go away and leave her alone over and over, to the point that she is hiding behind the counter of her workplace. He then sings a creepy-comedy number literally titled ‘You Are Never Ever Getting Rid of Me’ and they proceed to fall madly in love. The 1990s romcom trope of wearing her down until she eventually caves clearly never went away.

Waitress is immensely fortunate to include three brilliant musical theatre standards in ‘Opening Up’, ‘What Baking Can Do’ and the spine-tingling ‘She Used To Be Mine’. Despite the rest of the score being less memorable, the mere presence of these numbers elevates the show and Fletcher, who evokes genuine sympathy for Jenna, saves the day with her steady performance of the latter. This is also one of the few occasions that the performers’ vocals are not overpowered by the band, so perhaps there are still elements of the sound design to be resolved.

There are other notable performance within this company. Evie Hoskins revives the role of Dawn to remind audiences what a wonderful talent she is. Although this role lacks the depth of, for example, Carol in 42 Balloons, she still stands out as a powerhouse performer. And speaking of power, the vocal range of Sandra Marvin (playing Becky) is always a joy to witness live.  

Meanwhile, Les Dennis continues to make the most of his newly carved-out niche of elderly man in musical revivals. Although his one song ('Take It From an Old Man') does little to exercise his vocal cords, Dennis finds a moment of genuine tenderness with Jenna. Old Joe also appears to be one of the few characters taking the time to look out for Jenna, delivering her a few home truths about her affair with Dr Pomatter and the potential for others to be hurt by their actions.

Unfortunately, without giving away spoilers, Jenna’s ending is somewhat rushed and hard to believe. A scene with the abusive Earl feels written entirely to prompt cheers, whoops and finger snaps from the audience rather than remaining true to her personality. And unfortunately, the happiness of all three of the womens' stories is defined entirely by finding a man or having a baby.

Waitress has some of the right ingredients to be a fun piece of musical theatre; there are a handful of genuinely great songs, an inventive set design and this touring production has a sublimely talented core group of performers. But it would take a serious revision of the original material to allow it to explore the type of story is clearly has the desire and potential to tell. Despite this, those who are already fans of the show will almost certainly be happy with what can be considered to be a faithful revival.

** Two Stars

Reviewed by: Tom Ambrose

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