Katharine McPhee (American Idol, Waitress on Broadway, Smash, Scorpion) joins the WAITRESS London cast to play Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage. Pouring her heart into her pies, she crafts desserts that mirror her topsy-turvy life such as “The Key (Lime) to Happiness Pie” and “Betrayed By My Eggs Pie”. When a baking contest in a nearby county — and a satisfying run-in with someone new — show Jenna a chance at a fresh start, she must find the courage to seize it. Change is on the menu, as long as Jenna can write her own perfectly personal recipe for happiness.
Brought to life by a groundbreaking, female-led creative team, this Tony Award®-nominated hit features original music and lyrics by 7-time Grammy® nominee Sara Bareilles (“Love Song“, “Brave“), a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson (“I Am Sam“) and direction by Tony Award® winner Diane Paulus (“Pippin“, “Finding Neverland“).
“Waitress is a little slice of heaven!” says Entertainment Weekly, and is “sweet, sassy and passionate”, according to New York Magazine. Don’t miss this uplifting and hilarious musical!
Reviews
“★★★★★
This Broadway musical centres on a woman named Jenna, played by Katharine McPhee whose extraordinary voice is a thing of wonder. The show has heart (not to mention pastry) to spare and McPhee’s voice has the lilt and lift that takes you away from yourself. She is woman, hear her soar. At times, especially in the second half, in the lament She Used to Be Mine, she seems to lift the roof off. Waitress is one for the XX chromosome brigade, a grown-up Legally Blonde. The idea of mom and apple pie is a cliché, of course, but this story really does end up centring on both. So anyone for a slice of Five Star Musical pie? Don’t mind if I do.”
-The Times
“★★★★★
Soaring on the glorious music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, Waitress stands tall and proud on the West End. Quite simply, it is food for the soul. This is a show that is as comforting as Momma’s apple pie and the values of friendship, trust and self-worth couldn’t be more timely. As the beaming lady next to me said at the end: “This is just what we need right now. The smart book and lyrics neither judge nor excuse. Everything is lensed through a hokey hick setting but the universal truths feel just as real to a modern big city crowd. It wears its heart on its polycotton and plaid sleeves. It restores your faith in humanity and lightens your step just a little as you head back out into the night, smiling and humming to yourself. Waitress is unashamedly a show by women and about women but for everyone. What a delightfully warm, witty, wise and oh so wonderful treat. Personally, I can’t wait for a second helping.”
-Daily Express
“★★★★★
You’ll never look at pie in the same way after watching stage smash Waitress. US singer Katharine McPhee is sensational as lead character Jenna. Six-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles wrote the musical, based on the 2007 film, and you won’t be able to stop yourself singing along. From sex to scandal and adultery, nothing is off the menu in Waitress. It’s well worth filling your boots”
-The Sun
“★★★★
Waitress is really wonderful, with the sweetness, crispness and comfort of the best homemade pie, and boasts one of the best scores to be written in recent years. Every song is instantly singable, each with beautifully melodic tunes full of unexpected intervals. What makes the show so lovely is the community the three women have built for themselves in this diner. Nelson’s book gives the three waitresses time just to chat, or interact with customers. Those moments do wonders for character development, and they really help the show breathe, help it open up its world. And yet there’s no flab: no moments of wasted time, no loss of pace. Everything about the show is polished. Every ingredient is the best quality – the songs, the direction, the choreography and the characters – and each combined in a careful, complementary way. In the end, you’ve still got a pie. But what a pie.”
-The Stage
“★★★★
I have to confess to craving a slice of humble-pie after watching Waitress. after two hours of tuneful entertainment (with snappy folky-rocky-poppy music and lyrics from Sara Bareilles, book by Jessie Nelson) my carapace – crust, if you will – of skepticism had been breached, leaving warm appreciation oozing out. Diane Paulus’s production combines supreme polish with a wonderfully up-tempo, rushed-off-its-feet inventiveness. The ballads are meltingly lovely. Waitress is a meaty musical packed with delicious filling.”
-Telegraph
“★★★★
By the end of this super-kooky hit musical from Broadway, I was smitten. Diane Paulus’s production oozes confidence and all seems set up for a corny finale. But even if you can predict its ‘I will survive’ message, it is still rooted in something deeper. Adrienne Shelly would surely be delighted. This musical really cooks”
-Daily Mail
“★★★★
This is both a romcom set in the workplace and a feminist drama – this show is the real deal. The songs are in a pop idiom over an intricately figured rhythmic flow . It’s as if their staying power feels as if it’s being epitomised to the point of satire. There is a brilliant song in the second half of this show where Jenna tries to explain herself to her not-yet-born baby. It’s devastating because of the utter dignity with which McPhee invests it. It says a lot for the fast sass and wonderful take-it-or-leave it silliness and the occasional sugar-free sequences in Jessie Nelson’s deft book that the spot-on cast in Diane Paulus’s production mostly manage to give these elisions an elating good humour and humanit”
-The Independent
“★★★★
Sweet and sour, sentimental and funny, ethically dubious yet somehow life-affirming, Waitress takes its wild ingredients and mixes them together to make a strangely satisfying and charming show. The show holds a lot of enjoyment in its capacious arms. The show is a treat. You can buy the recipe book and sample pies in the foyer, but even without them it leaves a pleasantly sweet taste in the mouth.”
-Whatsonstage
“★★★★
Sara Bareilles has crafted a propulsive score and lyrics packed with poppy nostalgia. The best of them are soaringly delivered by Katharine McPhee. Diane Paulus’s production is fluent without being unpalatably slick — there’s a discreet onstage band and artfully restrained choreography from Lorin Latarro. The show has cartoonish elements, but subverts its moments of sentimentality and silliness, and there’s a whole lot of humour baked into it.”
-The Evening Standard