The plot of ‘Waitress’ not as sweet as its pies
Tasty production coming to Norfolk
NORFOLK — Lulu, women’s rights, marital abuse, lively tunes and pie — lots of pie.
These are the ingredients of “Waitress,” the touring musical that moves its diner into Chrysler Hall on Tuesday as the Broadway in Norfolk followup to the revolutionary “Hamilton.” (Well, something had to follow it.)
Pie is a wholesome, lovable dish, and the waitress at the center of this musical is a pie-making ace. In fact, that skill could be her ticket out of a dreary, endangered existence. But this musical is a bit darker than you might imagine, and even beyond the PG-13 movie from 2007 that it’s based on.
Even with marketing that emphasizes familyoriented casting, and words like “heartwarming” and “loving” being used to describe it, the story treads rather heavy ground. An abusive husband who makes Jenna, the central waitress, promise that she won’t love their oncoming baby more than she loves him and who forbids her to enter a pie-making contest that could win her money to be used to escape him. She is also drawn to the allure of an adulterous love affair with her doctor. The plot revolves around whether she can use her talent as a pie maker and the power of love to break free from a punishing existence.
Of course, it’s a musical — and the songs trump the plot every time.
Here are a few things you might want to know in advance of the show.
When the national tour of “Waitress” stops this week in Norfolk between Sarasota, Florida, and Wilmington, North Carolina, it will feature two local moppets making their professional stage debuts at age 4 and 5.
Charlotte Brewer, 4, of Norfolk, and Elena Fountaine, 5, of Virginia Beach will play the role of “Lulu,” the daughter of the Jenna. They will take turns in the role and appear in four shows each.
Charlotte has performed in the church nativity pageant four times, and Elena attends Encore Dance Center in Virginia Beach and has performed two recitals at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, according to a news release.
Their character, Lulu, has only one line: “Hi, Mama.” However, the casting director, who works with local cherubs at each town on the tour, notes that they must “be carefree, charming, controlled and aware that some 2,000 people will be watching them.”
The musical is based on the 2007 movie that starred Keri Russell (former Mousketeer) as Jenna. It was a surprise, indie-film hit. It drew some comparison to Martin Scorsese’s 1974 drama “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” but “Waitress” was more warmhearted and laugh-oriented.
It sparked a VirginianPilot campaign to get a supporting Oscar nomination for the late Andy Griffith, the Outer Banks resident best known as Sheriff Taylor of Mayberry and “Matlock.” In what was his second-to-last major role, he played the diner owner, Joe, with great warmth.
Andy didn’t get the nomination for “Waitress” but it was a warm, loving appearance.
The musical version opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2015 and moved the next year to Broadway, where it continued to run until just three weeks ago, with frequent guest appearances by pop singers to occasionally add new spark. It was the first Broadway musical to have an all female creative team in the top four categories: music and lyrics, Sara Bareilles; book, Jessie Nelson; direction, Diane Paulus; and choreography, Lorin Latarro. Bareilles was nominated for both a Tony and a Grammy for the score.
The cast in Norfolk will be led by Bailey McCall as Jenna, the pie master who names her creations according to her mood at the time. These include ”The Key Lime to Happiness Pie,” “Betrayed by My Eggs Pie,” “I Don’t Want Earl’s Baby Pie” and “I Can’t Have No Affair Because It’s Wrong and I Don’t Want Earl to Kill Me Pie.”
If previous reviews are any indication, McCall’s rendition of “She Used to Be Mine,” in which Jenna laments the loss of the control she has over her own life, is a heart-wrenching show-stopper.
The show runs through Sunday. To cheer on our two little local stars, we want to remind them that line is: “Hi, Mama.”
Don’t forget, and pass the pie.