If there were any doubts that the new musical, Waitress, would reach Broadway in the spring, reviews for the show’s pre-New York try-out should allay them. Running in Cambridge at the American Repertory Theater through Sept. 27, Waitress tells of a woman in a bad marriage who finds support from her customers and co-workers.
Jessie Mueller, a Tony nominee for Beautiful: The Carole King Story, plays Jenna, and her reviews alone make the show one to anticipate for its April opening at Broadway’s Brooks Atkinson Theater. Penned by Julian Fellowes based on the well-regarded Adrienne Shelley movie, the show features songs by Sara Bareilles and direction by Diane Paulus, best known for more kaleidoscopic fare like her Hair and Pippin revivals.
So did the out-of-town critics place a standing order for Waitress?
Boston Globe critic Joel Brown is certainly mad for Mueller. He praises her “weary gravity” and “luminous singing voice” in a “terrific performance.” As for the rest of the show, the number “`She Used to Be Mine,’ is the night’s showstopper,” and there are other good songs for secondary characters, although these folks tend not to be “much deeper than their one-line descriptions.” Brown also notes that Paulus and co. “produce the usual effortless-looking theatrical magic, although this time there’s no actual magic required.”
Variety’s Frank Rizzo notes that although the show needs second-act work, it’s “delicious at times.” Most of all, Jessie Mueller’s performance “transcends the show’s imperfections. She’s funny, frisky and likable. She sings Bareilles’ songs beautifully, giving every word significance and interest even as the tunes in the second half slip increasingly into thicker sentiment.” He closes the review noting, Waitress could be a kind of comfort-food musical. But at this point it still needs more filling.”
Though WBUR radio critic Carolyn Clay also complains about the show having one-too-many mushy ballads, she adds that Bareilles’s “pulsing, piano-driven tunes and sincere, ringing ballads both carry the story and set the now quirky, now aching mood.” She also lauds Scott Pask’s “ingenious scenery” and notes that despite ribald jokes, the show has a surprising innocence, with Jenna’s romance with her gynecologist evoking Danny and Sandy in Grease. Both Rizzo and Clay worry that Jenna’s husband (Joe Tippett) is written as just a mite too evil and pathetic.
Bridget McCarthy, of Entertainment Weekly appreciates Mueller’s “skill and incredible versatility” and finds her performance “career-defining.” She also enjoys “the impassioned and distinct music of Sara Bareilles,” as well as co-stars Jeanna de Waal and Keala Settle. “As a whole, Waitress is simplistic,” McCarthy notes, “but going hand in hand with its theme of womanhood, a small frame does not mean this musical cannot pack a punch – and the hit is a mighty one.”
A “zippy and entertaining musical” is how the Boston Arts Diary critic refers to Waitress, which is also “beautifully composed . . . and directed.” Some plot points are wrapped up quickly and unsatisfyingly towards the end, but “the ingenuity of the stage and set design” and the performances more than carry the evening. “Like its main character,” the Diary notes, the show can “cook up something delightful out of ordinary ingredients at every turn is what provides its particular magic.”
South Shore Critic blogger Jack Craib writes that enlisting Sara Bareilles and Jessie Mueller was “an inspiration” and that the supporting cast make up “a wonderful troupe.” He raves, “The combination of a strong libretto, a lovely score, unforgettable performances and just plain heartfelt sentiment (not sentimentality) make this a true winner, a real keeper.”
