WAITRESS – Book by Jessie Nelson; Music and Lyrics by Sara Bareilles; Directed by Lynne Collins; Music Director Susan Draus; Choreographed by Taeler Cyrus. Produced by the Arvada Center (6901 Wadsworth, Arvada) through October 13. Tickets available at 720-898-7200 or arvadacenter.org.
There is some “Kick-Ass Pie” being baked up at the Arvada Center. Jenna (played by the luminous Anne Terze-Schwarz), a waitress in a small restaurant, finds comfort and fulfillment in baking, as did her mother before her. They both used the serenity of a warm kitchen and the flour, sugar, and eggs in pie dough to escape the reality of their unhappy, emotionally abusive marriages.
The audience gets a pretty quick idea of the humor of life in the diner when the other waitresses push Jenna into taking a pregnancy test in “The Negative” and when Jenna’s first visit to her doctor gets her inducted into “Club Knocked Up.” Jenna’s journey to self-awareness is aided and abetted by her friends in the diner, Becky (an impressive Arielle Crosby making her Denver debut), Dawn (the effervescent Jenna Moll Reyes who performs all over Colorado), and Joe, the owner of the diner, brought to life by Arvada favorite Colin Alexander. Together they see her through her problems with her selfish husband Earl, her new doctor, and her ambivalence about becoming a new mother.
The cast features only two “imports” – Juli Biagi who plays Jenna’s mother and dances in the ensemble and Arielle Crosby playing the warm and understanding Becky and expresses her own path through life in the solo “I Didn’t Plan It.” It’s wonderful to welcome new players to the Denver theatre scene. Especially when they add so much to the production.
It is even more wonderful to see a superb cast of local talent take to the boards and rock the walls. Anne created a poignant, confused, sweet, but determined Jenna that had the whole audience rooting for her. Her version of “She Used to Be Mine” will break your heart. A shout out to Jenna Moll Reyes who bounds around the stage like an untrained puppy, even while she is bemoaning her fear of online dating. What is he going to think “When He Sees Me.” Luckily her first date was with the equally exuberant Bryce Baxter who steals nearly every scene he’s in with his energy and enthusiasm for Dawn. She needn’t have worried. Nick Rigg, who in real life is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet, had to work hard to convince us of his insecurity and selfishness. He’s made to say some of the saddest lines ever uttered on stage when he forces Jenna into the impossible promise that she won’t love the baby more than she loves him. The whole audience was mentally shouting “What a jerk!”
The visits to the doctor’s office become much more than listening to the baby’s heartbeat because of the handsome and charming Dr. Jim, played by the equally handsome and charming Marco Alberto Robinson. He shows Jenna that there could be a different future for her. His feisty nurse is given a sharp tongue and a knowing eye by Megan Van De Hey, who always makes the most of every part no matter how big or small.
An ensemble of singers and dancers – trained by first-time Arvada choreographer, Taeler Cyrus – kept the pace up and supported the story as customers and friends. As always, Brian Mallgrave’s set is colorful, inventive, and created to move the story along smoothly. Susan Draus’ work as Music Director and Conductor was evident throughout and kept the juices flowing. Director Lynn Collins sat at the end of my row through the performance with a proud smile on her face. Well deserved pride.
The story behind the story of this script is both heartbreaking and inspiring. Adrienne Shelly was an up-and-coming actress who wrote the original story for the film, and produced and directed it with a budget of $1.5 million. Right after it was accepted into the Sundance Film Festival, she was accosted in her office by a would-be robber and murdered. The movie went on to gross over $19 million. As an homage to Shelly’s work, the original Broadway version of the film-turned-musical had a mostly all-woman administration and crew, a tradition that has continued through each future production – including this one.
There are a couple of scenes in this script that might be a little embarrassing or scary for the youngsters in the family. Forewarn them that it is only a play or take them to see ONCE UPON A MATTRESS later in the season. They will love it!
A WOW factor of 8.75!