by Gwenn Friss
Cape Cod Times
August 9, 2024
Soara-Joye Ross (Becky), Stephanie Torns (Jenna), and Caitlin Houlahan (Dawn) crack up with laughter in the diner. NILE SCOTT STUDIOS PHOTO
DENNIS ― Like someone shrugging on a bulky coat, it took the “Waitress” cast a little while to settle in on opening night at The Cape Playhouse –― but once they did, the fit was perfect.Sara Bareilles’ Tony Award nominated “Waitress” started out at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge and was on Broadway for more than 1,500 performances before heading out on tour.
All of the principals and most of the company in this production are members of the labor union Actors Equity Association, indicating a level of professional experience that usually proves to be ― and does in this case ― a good base.
The pinnacle of the production, for me, was hearing Stephanie Torns ― a member of the original Broadway cast of “Waitress” ― sing the vocally challenging “She Used to Be Mine.”
Here’s the setup: Torns’ character, Jenna, has just lost the most valuable thing anyone can have ― hope. She pours her pain into that ballad so powerfully that one hears echoes of the funeral lamentations women have sung for eons. I had goosebumps.
Whether hauntingly poignant or cuttingly funny, the music and lyrics Bareilles wrote for “Waitress” in 2013 have aged well and are just as relevant a decade later.
Wednesday night’s rendering of “She Used to Be Mine” was marred briefly by feedback and some lines in the first act were stumbled over.
But overall, chemistry is terrific between the performers, creating a warm bond that leaves the audience cheering for Jenna and her friends at the “Eat at Joe’s” diner. In one tiny moment that showed the cast’s comfort level on stage, a bottle of mustard fell off the table and was retrieved without a second thought.
Based on Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 film “Waitress,” the musical is the story of a pregnant small-town pie-maker who hopes to win a regional pie contest and use the $20,000 prize to break free of her controlling, jealous husband.
But Jenna complicates her life more by having a brief affair with her OB/GYN doctor (John Riddle), who falls for her and the pies she creates.
Reasons to see ‘Waitress’ at The Cape Playhouse
The dynamic between Jenna and the diner’s owner Joe (John Shuman) is heart-warming and his song, “Take It From An Old Man” is a reminder of how fast the years pass.
Another great couple is Caitlin Houlihan as shy, never-been-kissed Dawn and Ogie, her bespectacled suitor played with over-the-top zest by Nick Cearley. His rendition of “I Love You Like a Table” is hilarious and ridiculous but Cearley is committed to his wacky character and it’s easy to love him as furniture too.The characters in “Waitress” are familiar, including the tough-talking server Becky (Soara-Joye Ross) and the blustery diner manager Cal (Erik Lochtefeld) – think Mel (the late Vic Tayback) from the TV show “Alice.”
But the theatrical devices are fresh, especially the way Jenna sings each new recipe compiling ingredients to match what’s going on in her life.
“Waitress” plays at 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, with several 2 p.m. matinees scheduled. Tickets are $45-$125, available at capeplayhouse.com/waitress-2024/.
