If you ever wanted to be on stage, this is your chance. The main stage at the Zach Theatre has been turned into a 360-degree immersive experience for the musical play Waitress. While most attendees fill the 420 seats of the theatre, dozens more have seats on the stage, with several levels going up along the back in addition to seats at tables on the stage itself.
The 2015 musical is based on a 2007 film, but its roots go back to the early days of Hollywood talkies. The famed actress Constance Bennett starred in the 1932 film What Price Hollywood? She played an aspiring waitress trying to advance her life. In that case, her goal was to break into the movie business, so it was very much an insider joke: how many women toiled away in Hollywood cafes hoping that some film mogul would order a cup of coffee from her, see great potential, and make her a star? For those whose vintage is more recent than the 30s, think of the TV show Alice, which from 1976-85. By the end of the run, Alice left being a waitress at Mel’s Diner in Phoenix upon getting a recording contract in Nashville.
In the case of this musical and its 2007 film, sights are set much lower. The venue is not Hollywood, but the American South. The waitress is Jenna (played to the hilt by Leslie McDaniel, in the photo), who is stuck in an unhappy (but not physically abusive) marriage with Earl (played with brooding sensitivity by Leland Burnett). Jenn’s goal is not the silver screen, but an independent life, and her best way of achieving it is to win a big cash award at a pie contest.
The flow and content of the play can actually best be grasped not by the overly explicit sexual exploits of the cast (writer Jessie Nelson turned up the prurient factor way too high), but by the creative names given to the pies that are baked and served at the café Jenna works at. Her emotional state is expressed via the pies: “I Hate My Husband Pie,” a bittersweet chocolate pudding filling that’s drowning in caramel; “Pregnant, Miserable, Self-Pitying Loser Pie,” which combines lumpy oatmeal and fruitcake. Other names, which need little psychological explanation include “Deep (Shit) Dish Blueberry Pie,” “A Little Wild, Wild, Berry Pie,” “I Don’t’ Want Earl’s Baby Pie,” and, most notoriously, “Pineapple Upside Down Pie” which Jenna’s love-addicted doctor eats between her legs!! Quite disgusting, really.
The doc, who presumably takes injections of testosterone when his nurse is not looking, is played Gabriel Bernal, whose tall and handsome appearance helped land him the role of the Prince in a recent production of Cinderella. He is pictured in my review of The Prom, also at the Zach, from last year: https://sunnewsaustin.com/2024/04/05/3988/ A very fine actor with a very fine voice, he was perfectly cast in Waitress.
I won’t spoil the ending by telling whether or not Jenna wins the pie contest and escapes the unwelcome arms of her husband. Suffice to say the trajectory of the play involves a twist.
I can’t say enough about the other cast members, each of whom delivered in-your-face performances (especially for those of us on the stage!). The other two waitresses were played by Nyla Watson and Catherine Roddey, each of whom experienced their own love tales. Charlier Turner was superb as the nerd Ogie; and the two irascible characters were a delight: Curt Denham as Joe, and Roderick Sanford as Cal, trying his best to reign in his waitresses.
Ultimately a play of love and self-improvement, which can only be achieved by breaking more than one heart, Waitress is a vibrant and colourful show interspersed by musical numbers that serve to advance the plot rather than sidetrack it. With the musical Grand Hotel ending its run today on another stage, there is a lot going on at the Zach Theatre! Don’t miss either one. PS: designated seats on stage will be served a slice of pie at intermission!
Directed and choreographed by Associate Artistic Director Cassie Abate with musical direction by Aimee Radics, Waitress will play June 11–July 27, 2025 in The Topfer at Zach Theater. Runtime 2 hrs 35 min, with a 20-min intermission.
For tickets, visit www.zachtheatre.org