Review: WAITRESS Comes to the National Theatre

The musical adaptation of Adrienne Shelly's screenplay Waitress made history on Broadway when it came in with the first all-female creative team led by Director Diane Paulus. However, it's noteworthy for another reason - Sara Bareilles' varied, character-driven music and lyrics that would, in any other year, probably have won the Tony Award. (Lin-Manuel Miranda's juggernaut Hamilton opened the same season.) These are not the only selling points for the current national tour though. Some strong casting, a fierce band fully integrated into the diner setting (led by DC's own tremendously talented Jenny Cartney), and female characters you want to root for in Jessie Nelson's book make this one to see.

Jenna (Desi Oakley), Dawn (Lenne Klingaman), and Becky (Charity Angél Dawson) work as waitresses at Joe's Pie Diner (expertly designed by Scott Pask). Every day, they go to work for Cal (Ryan G. Dunkin) and just try to make ends meet. They act as each other's support system. Jenna, a tremendously gifted pie baker, is married to the low-life, abusive Earl (Nick Bailey). The situation becomes more challenging when she learns she's expecting a baby, but her friends are there to support her even as they deal with their own personal drama. The slightly zany Dawn is trying to find love and when she finds it in the equally quirky Ogie (Jeremy Morse), she initially questions whether she's ready for a relationship. The opinionated Becky has survived a lot and makes mistakes, but she's just trying to make it all work all while taking care of her sick husband.

Instead of Jenna's world getting smaller with the news that she's expecting, it gets bigger. She's confronted with a few unexpected opportunities. There's the budding (and supremely complicated) relationship with the married Dr. Pomatter (Bryan Fenkart), and the opportunity to compete at a pie contest. The curmudgeonly Joe (Larry Marshall), a frequent customer at the diner, told her about the pie contest - if she enters and wins, she'd have enough money to make a new life for herself with her baby. There are a few obstacles to overcome (most notably Earl), but can she achieve a happy-ever-after ending? Either way, it's impossible for the audience not to root for Jenna's success.

While it took me awhile to warm up to Desi Oakley as Jenna - she gives a much more consistently internal and understated acting and singing performance than others I've seen in the role - she ultimately embodies a strong, but wounded woman trying to navigate a difficult situation. I wanted her to succeed in the end. Her singing is beautiful, especially on "What Baking Can Do" and "She Used to Be Mine." She can expertly navigate more folksy tunes along with big ballads and her voice fits them all.

Charity Angél Dawson slays from the moment she gets onstage. She's the perfect fit for Becky, a woman with a larger-than-life personality that mixes a lot of sass and sarcasm with concern for those around her. Her rendition of the Act Two opener "I Didn't Plan It" is among the best I've heard. Likewise, the adorable Lenne Klingaman charms from beginning to end. You can't help but want Dawn to have a fairytale romance with Ogie. Speaking of Ogie, Jeremy Morse gets all the laughs you'd expect, especially on "Never Ever Getting Rid of Me," in which Ogie makes it clear he's in it for the long haul. Morse's physical comedy skills are first-rate.

Larry Marshall as Joe and Nick Bailey as Earl play very different roles in Jenna's life, but both give strong performances. Thanks to Larry's acting skill, you can see that Joe has a sweet side from way he interacts with Jenna at the diner, which becomes all the more important in the final moments of the musical. Nick Bailey's Earl is frustrated, angry, and more than a little bit of a jerk. Only Bryan Fenkart disappoints as Dr. Pomatter. His entirely far too spastic performance takes the character to another level of annoying, which makes it difficult to understand why anyone would ever want to be in the same room as him. His portrayal is more cartoonish than flawed human. Unfortunately, he also struggled vocally on opening night. His nasal voice was less than pleasing to say the least.

Still quibbles about him aside (as well as Lorin Latarro's still eyeroll-inducing interpretive dance moments), this sweet show still charms on the national tour and is worth the visit.

Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one intermission

WAITRESS plays the National Theatre - 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW in Washington, DC - through Sunday, June 3. For tickets, visit the box office, call 1-800-514-3849, or purchase them online.

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