Review: WAITRESS at Östgötateatern

Waitress is about the waitress Jenna (Mercedesz Csampai) who is stuck in a small town with her violent husband, Earl (Jesper Barkselius) in a loveless marriage. When she becomes pregnant, she meets the nice doctor Dr. Jim Pomatter (David Alvefjord) who showers her with praise for her amazing pies. Pies that she composed and baked since she was a little girl and which are known throughout the town. They are so good that the grumpy owner (Sven Angleflod) of the café encourages her to enter a pie-baking competition. Could a win in it mean she can break away from her marriage?

This is the first time that Waitress has been staged in Sweden and it is a bit of Östgöteatern's signature to find a fairly new musical that has not been performed in Sweden before. Something they really do well and set a high standard for. I saw Waitress in London a few years ago and thought it was a nice feel-good musical that entertained for the moment. It doesn't affect you in the same way as, for example, Come From Away, does reagarding the plot or musically, but you are entertained and happy by it, even if there are some things in it which is a bit disturbing. Dr. Jim isn't really that much better than Jenna's husband. But it has a very good ending, lots of love and girl power in it.

As usual when something is staged at the Östgötheatre, a solid job is done with scenography, costumes, lighting so that everything is beautiful on stage and you have an ensemble that sings beautifully and plays well together in all roles. Mercedesz Csampai has a solid musical background and she really impresses both singing and acting. Someone I was impressed with back in 2017 when he played Marius in Les Miserable at the Wermland Opera is David Alvefjord and he matched Mercedesz very well in his role as the charming doctor Jim. The two have a lovely chemistry on stage. Sofia Jung, who plays Jenna's friend and colleague Becky, has a great voice and charisma and is just as fun to watch every time. Likewise Camilo Ge Bresky who does a lovely and funny interpretation of Ogie who is dating another of Jenna's friends. Jesper Barkselius plays Jenna's unsympathetic husband with great gusto. Yes, together they and all the others make this set of Waitress at least as good as the one I saw in London.

Everyone who lives in Östergötland should be proud of what Östgötateatern achieves year after year in terms of musicals. Well worth every single tax penny that makes it possible for everyone to be able to see this great musical. And it is so worth going from Stockholm and seeing it too.

Waitress is a musical for well-being that is recommended to everyone!

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