It has been a banner year for musicals in Pioneer Theatre Company’s (PTC) 63rd season. There were the exuberant cavalcade of pop music excellence in Jersey Boys, roof-raising performances in Beautiful, The Carole King Musical and while not a musical per se, the two-hander Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins was a glittering jewel.
These musical productions have magnified the capacity for artistic excellence in a regional company located in the Intermountain West, which proves that audiences do not need to search long and travel far for productions that would be the envy in any major metropolitan market for the performing arts.
Directed by Melinda Pfundstein, the opening night performance of PTC’s Utah premiere of Waitress, the musical based on the indie film that was first screened at Sundance in 2007, was polished to razor-sharp quality, most notably in its comedic delivery and choreographed ensemble pieces. It was as satisfying as one of Jenna’s (the lead character) devil’s food chocolate oasis pies.
Despite a few intonation issues, not all that surprising given the monumental adrenaline and kinetic energy that permeated the stage action on opening night, the cast made light work of the demands in Jessie Nelson’s book and Sara Bareilles’ music and lyrics. The trio of diner waitresses — Jenna (Claire Saunders), Dawn (Lexi Rabadi) and Becky (Candice Marie Woods) — harnessed the mother lode of the well-conceived countrified pop ballad gifts Bareilles crafted for the show. Saunders was most memorable in shaping the paradoxical counterpoint in the lyrics of She Used to Be Mine. Leveraging more value than her sort of awkward and gawky stock character might have been capable of offering, Rabadi nearly stole the show, especially when she was joined on stage by Daniel Plimpton (who revels accordingly in the outsized gifts offered in the score for his relatively minor character of Ogie, who falls in love with Dawn). Meanwhile, Woods delivered the best vocals of the night, in the second-act opener of I Didn’t Plan It, a very smart song that best illustrates the narrative tensions explored in the story.
In 2015, the Waitress musical made history on Broadway in breaking the glass ceiling, by representing the first show where the entire lead creative team comprised women (Sara Bareilles as composer/lyricist, Jessie Nelson as librettist, Diane Paulus as director and Lorin Latarro as choreographer). The musical closely follows the characters and the stories of the film by the same name and, in fact, a good deal of the dialogue in the musical comes from Shelly’s screenplay.
With its indie rock soundtrack, the film was well received at Sundance in 2007 but it was a somber time as well. Shelly, who also portrayed the character of Dawn on screen, was murdered in her Manhattan office, just weeks before news that the film had been accepted into Sundance. Initially ruled as a suicide, it was Shelly’s husband who insisted that her death be investigated as a homocide. A young construction worker eventually confessed to the murder. The Women Film Critics Circle established an award in Shelly’s memory, which is given to a film that passionately portrays its opposition against domestic abuse and criminal violence targeting women. In 2024, that award went to The Substance, directed by Coralie Fargeat, a film about societal obsessions with youth and beauty, in which a once successful Hollywood star (played by Demi Moore) is making fitness instruction videos but also is being forced out by her horrendous boss (portrayed by Dennis Quaid).
An unrepentant blowhard male is part of Waitress’ storyline. Profoundly unhappy in her marriage to Earl (Brent Thiessen), a self-absorbed abusive spouse, a pregnant Jenna is struggling to figure out a way to leave. Meanwhile, Dr. Pomatter (Ben Jacoby), who also is married, charms Jenna and the two end up having an affair. The lack of propriety in his bedside manner certainly raises eyebrows. Meanwhile, the diner crew where Jenna works is pushing her to enter a contest, convinced that her pie-making skills will notch a grand prize purse large enough for her to leave her husband.
The show’s gifts are entirely predicated on its strong comic knack, even as Nelson’s book, save for the generous serving of pathos in Jenna’s story arc, leaves practically every other character in two-dimensional form. When Thiessen came out on bows in front of a standing ovation on opening night, there were a few boos directed toward his character of Earl. Of course, everyone loved the character of Dr. Pomatter, who has a heaping slice of the evening’s offerings of double entendres. The nine-member ensemble, with choreography by Natalie Malotke, and a smashingly good sextet in the pit, led by Tom Griffin, put the appropriate dollop of whipped cream atop this first-class confection.
True to its historical underpinnings, Waitress is best when Jenna and Dawn and Becky, her two coworkers, are supportive sisters to each other. For instance, Becky also is in an unfulfilled marriage, as her much older husband is chronically ill. Of course, it is no surprise when the exchanges of sassy jabs with Cal, the diner’s manager (Aaron Arnell Harrington), leads to a fresh romance for Becky. When Woods sings I Didn’t Plan It, she earnestly pours her soul into the lyrics: Go ahead/Throw your rocks at me/From your little glass house/And then take off running/You’re no better than me/We’ve both made mistakes, haven’t we?
Along with Saunders’ best moment of the night with She Used to Be Mine, these songs add a welcome bit of weight to a superbly polished, airy and eminently pleasant show. Waitress is a fitting end to PTC’s outstanding season in drama and musical comedy.
Performances continue through May 17. For tickets and more information, see the PTC website