438 posts
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Post by Rukaya on Mar 8, 2019 1:37:33 GMT
Is anyone able to post the text of this review please, if they are subscribed? This Broadway musical centres on a woman named Jenna, played by Katharine McPhee whose extraordinary voice is a thing of wonder. Jenna makes 27 pies a day for the American diner where she works, including a daily special that she gets to name. So there’s Believe in Me Pie, the Mermaid Marshmallow Pie or You Are Never Seeing Me Again pie. When she becomes pregnant by her loutish husband, the dish of the day is Betrayed by My Eggs pie. This musical took me by surprise: I expected something much less touching, gritty and moving. It 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. This is one for the XX chromosome brigade, a grown-up Legally Blonde. The male characters are a bit shallow and cartoony and the women, particularly Jenna and her two waitress friends Becky and Dawn, have almost all the good lines. The exception is the hilarious man disaster who is Ogie, played with limbo-loosening panache by Jack McBrayer of 30 Rock fame. The team behind the musical, which was nominated for four Tonys in 2016 when it first appeared on Broadway having been adapted from the 2007 film, is also all female: music and lyrics are by Sara Bareilles, the scriptwriter is Jessie Nelson, with Diane Paulus as director and Lorin Latarro as choreographer. Needless to say, Jenna is not too thrilled when she discovers that she has her own bun in the oven. Her pies may be ab fab but her husband, Earl, is a nightmare and her doctor is a terrible (and very attractive) flirt. Life doesn’t come in neat packages: Becky’s husband has a long-term illness and she’s thinking of having an affair. Dawn, who is online dating, is an eccentric who loves to dress up as the American flag-maker Betsy Ross. What a crew they are. There is not a weak link in the cast. Marisha Wallace plays Becky with hip-swinging panache and Laura Baldwin has terrific comic timing as the hapless Dawn. David Hunter is funny as the heartthrob Dr Pomatter while Peter Hannah is the villain as the self-centred Earl. The smell of apple pie pervades the theatre foyer when you arrive. 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. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 8, 2019 1:44:52 GMT
Oh dear - is that what passes for professional theatre writing at The Times these days?
Far too much reliance on a plot summary. Over-reliance on cliche. Most of it could have been written without ever having seen the performance - and probably was.
I have almost zero interest in the piece (having listened to the OBC recording, it was clearly a piece that did nothing for me) but this review really lacks critical or journalistic flair.
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Post by sparky5000 on Mar 8, 2019 6:25:35 GMT
Is anyone able to post the text of this review please, if they are subscribed? This Broadway musical centres on a woman named Jenna, played by Katharine McPhee whose extraordinary voice is a thing of wonder. Jenna makes 27 pies a day for the American diner where she works, including a daily special that she gets to name. So there’s Believe in Me Pie, the Mermaid Marshmallow Pie or You Are Never Seeing Me Again pie. When she becomes pregnant by her loutish husband, the dish of the day is Betrayed by My Eggs pie. This musical took me by surprise: I expected something much less touching, gritty and moving. It 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. This is one for the XX chromosome brigade, a grown-up Legally Blonde. The male characters are a bit shallow and cartoony and the women, particularly Jenna and her two waitress friends Becky and Dawn, have almost all the good lines. The exception is the hilarious man disaster who is Ogie, played with limbo-loosening panache by Jack McBrayer of 30 Rock fame. The team behind the musical, which was nominated for four Tonys in 2016 when it first appeared on Broadway having been adapted from the 2007 film, is also all female: music and lyrics are by Sara Bareilles, the scriptwriter is Jessie Nelson, with Diane Paulus as director and Lorin Latarro as choreographer. Needless to say, Jenna is not too thrilled when she discovers that she has her own bun in the oven. Her pies may be ab fab but her husband, Earl, is a nightmare and her doctor is a terrible (and very attractive) flirt. Life doesn’t come in neat packages: Becky’s husband has a long-term illness and she’s thinking of having an affair. Dawn, who is online dating, is an eccentric who loves to dress up as the American flag-maker Betsy Ross. What a crew they are. There is not a weak link in the cast. Marisha Wallace plays Becky with hip-swinging panache and Laura Baldwin has terrific comic timing as the hapless Dawn. David Hunter is funny as the heartthrob Dr Pomatter while Peter Hannah is the villain as the self-centred Earl. The smell of apple pie pervades the theatre foyer when you arrive. 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. Thanks for posting 👍 4* review from Mark Shenton on londontheatre.co.uk 4* review from the Daily Mail |
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Post by lonlad on Mar 8, 2019 7:23:28 GMT
Who wrote the Mail review now that Quentin is sullying the pages of the Sunday Times?
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5,866 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Mar 8, 2019 7:28:43 GMT
I wonder if everyone is scared to be too critical of it in light of them banging on that it’s an ‘all female creative team’.. (just don’t mention the set, lighting and sound designers ... shhhhh)
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Post by anthem on Mar 8, 2019 7:53:06 GMT
I wonder if everyone is scared to be too critical of it in light of them banging on that it’s an ‘all female creative team’.. (just don’t mention the set, lighting and sound designers ... shhhhh) Perhaps. Or maybe they just really enjoyed it? I do think some of the early reviews posted by members here (as opposed to the raves in other threads) raised an expectation that it wouldn’t be received well overall but that’s proving not to be the case. Everyone likes different things and I think the reviews are well deserved, albeit I would rate it as a 4* show rather than a 5*. |
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Post by shady23 on Mar 8, 2019 8:31:43 GMT
Metro three stars
"McPhee's southern belle is often a glassy, remote presence. For charisma the show relies entirely on the supporting cast".
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2019 8:34:26 GMT
I would have given it 5* and I can be very critical af times.
I saw Hamilton on Saturday and Waitress on Monday and would rather watch Waitress any day.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2019 8:36:56 GMT
I wonder if everyone is scared to be too critical of it in light of them banging on that it’s an ‘all female creative team’.. (just don’t mention the set, lighting and sound designers ... shhhhh) Sara has picked up this point previously. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2019 8:37:53 GMT
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578 posts
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Post by michalnowicki on Mar 8, 2019 9:14:53 GMT
Apart from the ridiculous comment from The Guardian (about abusive relationship), I'm struggling with this one as well: "Katharine McPhee, from the original New York cast (..)"
She's not though, right? Jessie Mueller was in the original cast, KMP was one of the many Jennas along the line.
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Mar 8, 2019 9:36:26 GMT
I enjoyed this and plan to go back but i can't fathom a world where it gets better reviews than Come From Away. If this is true then it just goes to show the state of "professional" theatre criticism! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2019 10:03:06 GMT
I enjoyed this and plan to go back but i can't fathom a world where it gets better reviews than Come From Away. If this is true then it just goes to show the state of "professional" theatre criticism! But if they're paid for it then it MUST be higher quality (Citation: Shenton, 2018 now not being paid for it). |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2019 10:06:33 GMT
Anyway good for Waitress. Is it intrinsically BETTER than Come from Away? my critical opinion (that nobody is paying for therefore moot* as above) I would rate CFA as a better put together, more 'artful' piece of work. Waitress is, however, more commercially viable, and I'd say is far better than much of the crop of movie-musicals in recent years in terms of music. The book, as I said in my own comments is flawed both at the fault of the orignal movie and book writer. BUT all that said, did I have a damn good time? yes. Was I moved and entertained, also yes. And in a very 'traditional' way in terms of structure and subject matter, so it's no surprise really the reviews came out 'better' overall than something more challenging like CFA.
*I have to stop myself writing 'Moo point'
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Post by katykate on Mar 8, 2019 10:16:51 GMT
Good for Waitress! If the aim of musical theatre is to provide an enjoyable night out with talented performers then this delivers. I think it is well deserving of the good reviews and I think it will be around for a while. Why does it even need to be compared to anything else when it is just a good show in its own right?
I dragged my other half to see it and he (to my surprise) loved it. I even caught him listening to you matter to me the other day so he is a definite convert! For this reason I think it will appeal to the masses and be well received.
Hope I didn’t make any spelling mistakes in this post or I will be picked up by the grammar police again...
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Post by sparky5000 on Mar 8, 2019 10:18:11 GMT
I don’t think Waitress does really have better reviews does it? They’re fairly comparable. Waitress is mostly getting 4 star reviews with one 5 star review whereas CFA got quite a few 5 star reviews I think. Michael Billington gave both shows 3 stars.
I’m happy both have garnered generally good reviews, which I think they both deserve.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2019 10:19:49 GMT
Amen KatyKate! I think the theatre snobs sometimes forget people want to go to the theatre for a good time (and a pie)
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423 posts
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Post by dlevi on Mar 8, 2019 10:21:04 GMT
For me Waitress is a B+ musical with an A + heart. It has enough laughs, big and small to satisfy most people, it has a smart though not outstanding score ( with a couple of great tunes) and it's well put together by a great creative team . It's not aspiring to be high art, it's aspiring to be a good show and that's what it is. And like Come From Away it wears its heart on its sleeve. I was happy to have seen it and if offered a ticket, I'd happily go again. Is it the Best show in town? No. Is it a great musical? No. But it's so much better than mindless jukebox entertainment or self-aggrandizing bio musicals that are flooding the stages on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2019 10:26:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2019 11:40:58 GMT
I really am confused over the negativity on this board towards the show. I saw waitress and I think I mentioned at the time I wasn’t crazy about it but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve the reviews it has got or that it isn’t worthy of a place in the west end. I personally enjoyed CFA a lot more but I know for certain if any of my friends that are not theatre fans had to pick a show to see then they would pick Waitress. I’ve said this before and I will say it again. People on this board have forgotten how to accept other people’s opinions. You don’t have to agree with them and you are fully entitled to have a grown up discussion about them but discounting them or making someone feel like they need to justify their opinion is wrong.
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Mar 8, 2019 12:07:51 GMT
There's enough shows out there for us all to have our own favourites.
It's not a competition and there is no "best". Just opinions.
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841 posts
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Post by stuartmcd on Mar 8, 2019 13:38:02 GMT
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Post by andrew on Mar 8, 2019 17:36:16 GMT
Michael Hamway will play Ogie tonight.
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Mar 8, 2019 18:38:30 GMT
A useful summary
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Post by paddy72 on Mar 8, 2019 19:16:45 GMT
Apologies if you’ve seen this already but go to this link to see the kid called Adrian performing for the broadway cast of Waitress. Really touching and what a voice....
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