Waitress - A Northern Theatre News Review

When I first read the synopsis for Waitress a few years ago, I didn’t think it was my kind of show, idiot that I am. Then, more recently, I watched the pro-shot and absolutely loved it, while also kicking myself, and tonight I got to see it live for the first time!

There was a real buzz inside the Bradford Alhambra and from the moment the auditorium filled up, it felt like one of those performances where the audience was already fully on board.

It helps, of course, when the show itself arrives with so much warmth, charm and sheer exuberant energy!

Waitress has a knack for balancing light and shade, and this production leans confidently into that. For all its sweetness, it never forgets that this is a story with some painful and complicated emotional tussles at its centre.

But what makes the evening land so well is the way it keeps choosing joy anyway. Not in a forced or sugary way, but in a generous, big-hearted way that leaves you smiling even when the story takes its tougher turns.

A huge part of that comes from a cast who look like they are having a genuinely brilliant time on stage. That sense of enjoyment is infectious. The friendships feel lived in, the comic beats are nicely judged, and the whole company brings an easy, natural energy that makes the show feel fresh rather than overly polished. You get the sense that everyone trusts the material and trusts each other, which makes it a very easy production to settle into.

The staging is clever, fluid and often deceptively simple. Scenes move along with real momentum, and the production does a lovely job of shifting between the more intimate moments and the bigger ensemble numbers without losing its rhythm. Nothing feels clunky, which is no small achievement in a musical that needs to juggle comedy, romance, heartache and pie-filled Americana in fairly quick succession.

It’s a show that makes me feel hungry - anyone else get that?

And is it just me or does everyone else want to try those wonderfully named pies?

I digress!

Then there are the songs, which really are the secret ingredient (see what I did there!) that hold everything together. They are witty, melodic, emotionally honest and full of character, giving the show much of its lift as well as its emotional punch. Time and again, the score sweeps in and does exactly what a great musical should do, telling us what the characters cannot quite say out loud.

What lingers most after this Waitress is the atmosphere it creates. This was a packed house, a crowd clearly enjoying itself, and a production that sent people back out into the Bradford night looking lighter than when they went in.

That is no small thing with the world as it is right now.

Whatever darker threads run beneath the story, this remains a joyous, uplifting evening of musical theatre, served up with style, heart and a very generous slice of fun.

Cast

• Jenna — Carrie Hope Fletcher

• Old Joe — Les Dennis

• Dawn — Evelyn Hoskins

• Becky — Sandra Marvin

• Dr Pomatter — Dan Partridge

• Ogie — David Mairs-McKenzie

• Earl — Mark Willshire

• Cal — Dan O’Brien

Company

• Will Arundell — Swing

• Yochabel Asante — Ensemble

• Alice Croft — Ensemble

• Jamie Doncaster — Ensemble

• Daniel George-Wright — Ensemble

• Will Hardy — Swing

• Bayley Hart — Swing

• Olivia Lallo — Swing

• Emma Lucia — Ensemble

• David Mairs-McKenzie — Ensemble

• Ellie Ruiz Rodriguez — Ensemble

Creative team

• Book — Jessie Nelson

• Music and lyrics — Sara Bareilles

• Directed by — Diane Paulus

• Choreography by — Lorin Latarro

• Based on the motion picture by — Adrienne Shelly