A Baker’s Dozen in Honor of Waitress
In just one week theatergoers will experience what is perhaps one of the most deliciously anticipated baking musicals presented by Broadway Utica to hit the Stanley Theatre. Here to preheat your oven, and get you ready for the treat of a lifetime, are the sweet, and sticky, facts about the hit musical Waitress.
- Warning: Eat Before You Arrive
Get ready to step inside the Stanley Theatre and become consumed with the smell of pie, the look of pie, the type of pie, and everything but an actual slice of pie. In fact, there will be so much nutmeg and cinnamon wafting through the buttery air that guests might find themselves wandering around the theater in search of the baking ovens.
- It’s Personal
Waitress is the story of Jenna, a waitress inside Joe’s Diner who wants to escape her abusive marriage and small town. While strong topics like domestic violence, poverty, and extramarital affairs take the lead, this personal story is handled with a unique levity that keeps the tension out of the seats.
- The Ingredients Are Real
It’s been reported that the entire cast of Waitress was taught how to bake and roll out a proper pie dough before heading to the stage. Those skills are apparent as Jenna, Waitress’s lead character, cracks eggs, sifts flour, and pinches the pie’s edges between belting out the perfect notes.
- It’s Based on the 2007 Movie
While there are a few minor changes, the stage adaptation of Waitress stays true to the 2007 film, which featured Kerri Russel as Jenna. It even goes so far to include the original lines that were written by the screenwriter, Adrienne Shelly.
- A Chilling Tale
Adrienne Shelly, the acclaimed screenwriter of Waitress, was murdered just one year before Waitress made its mark. Shelly, who wrote and starred in the hit movie, tragically lost her life to the hands of an unstable 19-year-old construction worker who’d been assigned to her building. Her two year old daughter can still be seen at the end of the 2007 film.
- Sundance Film Festival
Waitress has gained a lot of attention due to its box office hit. However, a fun tidbit about this 22 million dollar release was its selection to play at the 2007 Sundance Festival where its story took root.
- Sara Bareilles
The musical composer for Waitress is the acclaimed Sara Bareilles, a musical pop star who received six Grammy Award nominations thanks to her radio hit songs, “Love Song,” “Brave,” and “Gravity.”
- It All Goes Back To Theater
Composing a lyrical feast for Broadway is a large undertaking. Luckily, Bareilles had a bit of theater up her sleeve as she reportedly performed in local theatre productions, like The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Little Shop of Horrors, as a child. Taping into this experience helped design a plethura of songs that transformed Waitress into Broadway gold.
- Smashing Success
Waitress sold out during its premiere at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre and the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And, when it hit Broadway, Waitress grossed $145,532 in its first weekend alone.
- It’s Female, Baby!
Waitress became the first Broadway show to employ a lead of female creatives. From direction by Diane Paulus to music by Sara Bareilles, choreography by Lorin Patarro, and the book written by Jessie Nelson, Waitress’s female creatives have not only marked history – they made Broadway eat pie.
- A Feminist Uprival?
Is Waitress a feminist musical? While some media outlets have labeled the show as a feminst movement designed to highlight the misgivings of women within society, others argue that it’s simply a play that reflects life.
- A Baker’s Dozen
From Lulu’s Strawberry Dream Pie to Couch Potato Pie, Lost Shepherd’s Pie, and Got My Vote Rhubarb Compote Pie, Waitress easily serves up a baker’s dozen throughout the show. There’s so much pie that you’ll need a container or two to dissect it all.
- Waitress Leaves You Wanting A Jenna In Your Town
For the love of pies we can’t help but wonder what Jenna would whip up if she were in Central New York. Besides the already mastered tomato pie, the palate would be the limit for Jenna’s mouth-watering creations like “Got Stuck At A Red Light on Genny Pie,” “Richie Scomardo Put The Chicken in the Rigatoni Pie,” “Fell in Love on the Centro Pie,” and, last but definitely not least, “The Lights and Stars of Broadway Utica Pie.” We’re so certain that Jenna would come up with an ensemble of local favorites that we found Broadway Utica’s Executive Director, Danille Padula, and Marketing Communications Manager, Carrie LoGalbo – Klepadlo, pitching pie ideas to the cast and crew of Waitress upon their arrival.
WAITRESS | March 22 & 23
7:30pm |TICKETS
