Theatre by the Sea serves up ‘Waitress' with a side of extraordinary

Boston Globe

01-07-2025

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How formulaic? '
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Jenna is surrounded by standard issue sidekicks – outgoing Becky (Anny Jules) and woefully insecure Dawn (Emelie Latzer) – who are fellow waitresses tasked, as musical theater sidekicks tend to be, with providing most of the show's comic relief. The rest comes courtesy of the diner's adorable owner Joe (Kevin B. McGlynn), its adorable short-order cook Cal (Billy Goldstein) and the adorable, delightfully quirky customer Ogie (Matt DaSalva).
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In diner jargon, the script that drives 'Waitress' is a blue-plate special: a platter of marginally nutritious and easily digestible fare doled out in pre-measured portions.
But then there's the songs.
Each is a captivating internal monologue that adds weight and dimension to the underwritten characters. And each is given pitch-perfect delivery by a very talented cast, accompanied by an outstanding six-piece band (music director Jacob Priddy and Alex Tirrell on keyboard, Adrienne Taylor on cello, Bruce Hagist on guitar, Garrett Campbell on bass, and Mike Sartini on drums).
The show's opening number, 'What's Inside,' suggests that a pie is more than just a little flour, eggs, and sugar. There's heart. Every member of this company brings heart to the production, and none more so than the extraordinary Mackey-McGee.
Her powerful and beautifully nuanced vocals – which turns Jenna's 11th-hour self-reflective 'She Used to Be Mine' into a tear-jerking show-stopper – is mesmerizing, as is her ability to capture all the pain and potential in Jenna's sad and uneventful life. Most other featured performers are similarly effective at tapping the unwritten essence of their characters, though there's a few who work too hard to do so, and are still unable to find the True North of the person they are playing. The physically imposing Channing creates an Earl who is way too menacing for a gentle musical like this, while Latzer goes to the opposite extreme with her fragile-to-the-point-of-frenzied portrayal of Dawn.
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This imbalance in acting choices is the only thing that slips through director Kevin P. Hill's attention to detail, for everything else happening within scenic designer Cassie McKnight's picturesque rendering of the diner – including scene changes nicely camouflaged by Paul Jonathan Davis's lighting design, short bursts of Ashley Chasteen's fluid and always interesting choreography, and the seemingly effortless emergence of customers, baking products, and pies out of nowhere – is seamless.
An essential part of all these enterprises is a very gifted and engaged ensemble (Ian Black, Jake Bryan, Indya Cherise, Audrey Curdo, Ian Dembek, Preston Karp, Ashton Norris, Evan Owen, Katy Plaziak, Emma Wilcox, and Daisy Wilson-Dzogbe).
Chances are, they too are singing the production's catchiest tune on their way out of the theater and will find themselves doing the same thing long after the show's three-week run.
WAITRESS
Book by Jessie Nelson. Music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles. Directed by Kevin P. Hill. At Theatre By The Sea, 364 Cards Pond Rd., Wakefield. Through July 19. Tickets are $74-$100 (including fees). 401-782-8587. theatrebythesea.com.
Bob Abelman is an award-winning theater critic who formerly wrote for the Austin Chronicle. Connect with him
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