It’s no wonder Zach Theatre extended its run of “Waitress.”
Originally slated to run through July 13, the theater added two weeks to the show’s run due to popular demand. The musical follows Jenna, a waitress at a pie shop, upon finding out she’s pregnant by her violent, manipulative, doofus of a husband, Earl. Singer Sara Barreilles wrote the music and lyrics for the show, which is based on the 2007 movie of the same name.
Zach Theatre’s rendition of the Tony-nominated show will devastate you, make you laugh and blush, and, of course, have you craving pie. Austinite Leslie McDonel stars as Jenna and she is magnificent.
McDonel feels somehow familiar even if you’ve never seen her perform, and at every moment – when she feels trapped with her husband, when she dreams of a way to truly happy life via her creative pie recipes, and as she falls in love – you root and root and root for her Jenna.
Zach Theatre’s Topfer stage has you so close to the actors, too, that you may feel like you could just reach out and give McDonel’s Jenna a much-needed hug. The supporting cast provided essential laughs and comfort throughout the night in between volatile relationship moments between Jenna and Earl.
In between raunchy displays and goofy songs about peeing on a pregnancy test, you’ll find yourself in the middle of perhaps a top-10-best-song-ever-written about yearning and love: “When He Sees Me.” The song is sung by the character of Dawn, a nerdy fellow waitress who has never dated before. Lyrics include: “What if when he sees me/ I like him and he knows it?/ What if he opens up a door/ And I can't close it?” Catherine Roddey’s Dawn does the song justice, bringing the right amount of geeky flair.
Something about “Waitress” is that it sneaks up on you. As someone who vowed to never, ever watch the movie version again after seeing it as a 12-year-old because of the violence and general gloominess, it feels jarring to leave the theater happy-crying from all the feelings of hopefulness, heartbreak, and joy.
Part of the show’s success must be Zach Theatre’s coliseum-like seating. For a little extra, you can watch from the stage – on the side and in arena seating in the background. This was nerve-wracking at the start as the actors essentially had four stages to give attention to. But you didn’t notice after about one second – the actors pivoted seamlessly from front to back to side to side and their choices felt natural to how the character would move. And, watching the audience members on stage react to the show was part of the fun.
I won’t spoil the whole show, but all that rooting for Jenna absolutely pays off in the end.
It’ll catch you off-guard how effecting a show about a baking waitress can be. And isn’t that just sweet as pie?
