Waitress has been described as a musical about resilience, friendship and hope. It’s also about the darker side of life, which takes it away from being a show as sweet as the pies being made in Joe’s Diner.
Jenna (Natalie Bassingthwaighte) is a talented baker of pies working in an American diner with her besties, sassy Becky (Gabriyel Thomas) and sweet history-loving nerd, Dawn (Mackenzie Dunn). Jenna longs to escape her troubled marriage to domestic abuser Earl (a masterly performance from Keanu Gonzalez) and escape to a better life. But for now she is stuck creating new pies and suffering emotional and occasionally physical abuse from Earl. Also in her world are her boss Cal (John Xintavelonis) and creaky, cranky but soft-hearted diner owner Joe (a cleverly unrecognizable John Waters). Then after she finds herself pregnant, her handsome but goofy gynaecologist, Dr Pomatter, comes into her life and turns it upside down.
One of the strengths of the show is that it doesn’t follow a predictable romantic line, and its story not only exposes domestic abuse, but also shows Dr Pomatter crossing the line between doctor and patient that would certainly attract unwelcome attention from a medical board. That little fact seems to be glossed over.
Watching Earl’s constant psychological abuse and control of Jenna made my skin crawl, and I was also uncomfortable with the relationship between Jenna and her doctor. But during the course of the story, both those situations are addressed and resolved satisfactorily, though thankfully not in a neatly tied up ending with a pretty bow.
The strong girlfriend relationships are what keep Jenna going, and both Gabriyel Thomas and Mackenzie Dunn are excellent in their roles. More mature readers may remember music theatre star of a few decades ago, Jill Perryman. Dunn is Perryman’s granddaughter, and at times I found myself seeing facial expressions and comic timing that were pure Perryman. Dunn in particular has great comedy chops and physicality that would make Perryman burst with pride.
Dawn falls for an equally nerdy swain, and Gareth Isaac’s Ogie is assured, hilarious and an audience pleaser. They make a delightfully odd couple.
John Waters as the crusty owner with a hidden heart of gold gives the pleasing performance that one would expect of this veteran of our stage and screen.
Rob Mills shows a fine comic streak along with some lovely vulnerability as Dr Pomatter, and naturally his vocals were strong. Bassingthwaighte’s performance as Jenna is a sweet one, and she quickly makes the audience fall in love with her. On opening night her vocals were a little shaky to start with but she soon settled. The cameo role of Jenna’s daughter, little Lulu, is played by four Melbourne tiny tot performers, with Stevie Denton taking the role on opening night with aplomb, and at the curtain call she got some of the biggest applause! The cuteness factor was high.
Overall, Waitress is an engaging story, it has tuneful music that is pleasant to the ear, and nobody shouts at you instead of singing. For me that was one of the biggest pleasures – seeing a new musical that is a BroBroadway hit where its performers really sing and the music takes you along for the ride. Composer Sara Bareilles and screenwriter Jessie Nelson have given us a most enjoyable night in the theatre.
Photo credit: Jeff Busby
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Julie Houghton reviewed “Waitress”, presented at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne on May 8, 2026.
