Legitimate Theater: "Waitress the Musical" (2015)

Waitress the Musical

Welcome to Legitimate Theater: a column dedicated to movie-based stage musicals. The goal of this series is to explore those stories that originated in films and eventually worked their way onto Broadway and beyond. By the end of each entry, there will hopefully be a better understanding of this odd but rampant trend in modern entertainment. Are these stories really worth telling through song and dance? How can it even compare to the technical prowess of a camera and seamless editing? Join me on this quest as I explore the highs and lows of this trend on the third Wednesday of every month and hopefully answer what makes this Legitimate Theater.

Opening

With Thanksgiving coming up, it's time to get ready for family get-togethers That includes baking and going to restaurants to appreciate the company of others. While there have been many shows about the joys of cooking (lest we forget Sweeney Todd), the recent hit Waitress the Musical is possibly the best representation of how cooking enhances our lives. With a story that is rich in flavor and heart, it tells the story of a pregnant woman trying to find independence from her suppressive life. With a great songbook by Sara Bareilles, it's hard to deny how immediately catchy and memorable it is, even as the emotion becomes more apparent in the latter half. With Tony nominations (it just couldn't beat Hamilton for "some reason"), it's a show that proved that it was here to stay. But, was all of the effort necessary in baking up this story? 

A Quick Background

Tony Nominations: 4 (including Best Musical) in 2016

Based on: Waitress (2007)

Music: Sara Bareilles

Lyrics: Sara Bareilles

Book: Jessie Nelson

Prominent Actors:  Jessie Mueller, Drew Gehling, Keala Settle, Kimiko Glenn

Soundtrack

1. "What's Inside"
2. "Opening Up"
3. "The Negative"
4. "What Baking Can Do"
5. "Club Knocked Up"
6. "When He Sees Me"
7. "It Only Takes a Taste"
8. "You Will Still Be Mine"
9. "A Soft Place to Land"
10. "Never Ever Getting Rid of Me"
11. "Bad Idea"
12. "I Didn't Plan It"
13. "Bad Idea (Reprise)"
14. "You Matter to Me"
15. "I Love You Like a Table"
16. "Take It From an Old Man"
17. "Dear Baby"
18. "She Used to Be Mine"
19. "Contraction Ballet"
20. "Everything Changes"
21. "Opening Up (Finale)"

Note: Listen to the music here

Song Exploration

Opening Song:
"What's Inside"

As the title would suggest, this is a show in which a woman escapes her troubles through baking. It only makes sense that the opening motif is a meditative take on this. She's standing there, about to bake a pie, reciting three core ingredients: sugar, butter flour. The hypnotic quality makes the experience immediately memorable, creating a calm before the storm that follows. It reflects a peace that cooking can bring to everyone's lives and the foundation of having something that never changes. Along with the next song that serves more as an exposition, it's a full vision of the musical's goal of being both eccentric and emotional, knowing when to pull back and find a moment of peace in a private act of pie-making. 

Carryovers

The easy answer is probably: the pies? The original wasn't prone to break out into song, so there's nothing in its eccentric personality that appears from the film. What is here is a story of a woman trying to overcome a bad marriage and raise a baby on her own. It's all done with the familiar sense of comedy, though the musical ratchets up the personality at points to make it a lot more fun. Similarly, there's more emphasis on the sadness that makes the story more sympathetic to the struggles of single mothers nationwide. 

High Point:

"She Used to Be Mine"

While the entire songbook is full of memorable tunes, the one moment that is likely to give it a permanent place in Broadway history is this second act song. It's the moment where things become insular, with her at her most desperate and wishing to escape the misery of her current condition. She is singing about how she would describe herself to her unborn child, believing that it will create this powerful vision of her selflessness. Considering how much pressure has been put on her up to this point, it only elevates the emotion and serves as Sara Bareilles' finest moment as a songwriter, managing to give into tender emotions and make every last teardrop land correctly. It's powerful and hard to deny its power. If anything, it's what helps the show to be more than a novelty, even if the show around it is superb. 

Low Point:

"Contraction Ballet"

Okay, this one is a bit of a cheat. In a soundtrack full of great songs, one has to be ruled out. Unfortunately, it's the one that reminds everyone that giving birth is very painful. Add in the weight of being a single mother with no clear future and it becomes just a little more depressing. It's fitting for context, but it's doubtful that anyone's singing this at a karaoke party. Then again, nobody really could given that it lacks actual lyrics. 

What Does It Bring to the Story?

The story is enhanced in ways that the original movie just couldn't achieve. For starters, the story is given a richer personality, allowed to explore the complexity of women in the workplace dealing with issues that were even more taboo in 2007. The supporting cast also has more of a chance to shine as they get their own musical numbers and expands their empathy in the process. It also has more of a chance to be goofy, going into cheeky numbers like "Club Knocked Up" that don't fit into the vision of the original film. While it's all fitting, it still shows the perfect way to adapt to a new medium while focusing on the struggles of women.

Was This Necessary?

Yes

In some respects, the show is necessary as more than a great soundtrack. The way that Bareilles designed the show created one of the flashiest shows to cast. There was a time when weatherman Al Roker was in the show. Every new run presents an interesting challenge to who can play what role, and it only enhances how great the show's material is that anyone can do it. It also helps that this is a love letter to the original film and more importantly a tribute to the career of Adrienne Shelley. For those who didn't know, Shelley was murdered prior to the film's release and cut short a promising career. It's a dark note, but one that feels informative of why it's important to tell women's stories and prove that even those who have been marginalized deserved to be heard. It helps that the songbook around it is so catchy. As far as movie-to-stage musicals go, this is one of the modern greats, existing for more than nostalgic cache. It's about the power of the self.