Waitress: The Musical

This musical production is essentially the same story in the 2007 movie "Waitress" with Keri Russel. This 'movie' was filmed in a theater with a live audience, and it has all the looks and feel, including moveable sets, of a real stage play.

Sara Bareilles is 40-something Jenna. She is a waitress and pie-baker at the local pie and short order food place. She is married to a real cad. (Incidentally her real-life husband plays her husband here.) They aren't close in any manner but after a night of drinking and frivolity she finds herself pregnant.

Most of the story involves her interactions with her co-workers, her maternity doctor, and her regular customers. It is her journey to come to grips with who she really is and what she wants out of life. Including, a few months later, for her daughter.

Bareilles, who also produced and wrote songs, is really good in the role. All the singing is good, it seems veterans of the stage were in all the roles. Although I had a career as a Scientist, in graduate school I was in a four week, 28-performance musical so watching this brought back good memories. There is something about a stage play, a musical with live singing, that is more personal and more enjoyable than a slick movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. On DVD from my public library. My wife skipped, she isn't a fan of musicals.

I've been listening to Sara Bareilles' music for a long time and even heard many songs from Waitress before I learned it was a musical. I love the music and was excited to see it was available to stream.

It took me about ten tries over the course of a year to watch this because I couldn't get past Joe Tippett playing the husband Earl. He plays a slimy, creepy abuser too well and I couldn't watch. I finally wanted to know what happened at the end and I'm glad I watched it. But I don't think I'll watch it again. I've been known to always love many sad, depressing movies but I had the hardest time getting past my discomfort of watching Earl.

It was hard to chose a rating for this because everyone did a great job, and Tippett even did too good of a job but I know many people would have a harder time than I did to watch this so I wanted to give it a warning.

One of the best movie versions of a Broadway musical that I've seen in a long time. This musical closely follows the original movie and the music is glorious. I've seen it on stage and seeing it as a movie is just as fabulous as in person. I'm so thankful that they made a movie so that I can watch it any time I feel like. The cast works well together, the ensemble is great, and the band is great. If you're looking for a fun, adult themed musical that keeps your toes tapping, your fingers snapping, and your mouth laughing, I say watch this - it's SO worth it! And after you watch it, try not to buy the original Broadway cast soundtrack!

An absolute dream. This story is just life in all its beautiful messiness. We've all felt stuck, unworthy, or looking for something more but don't know how to get there. Having been a fan of the movie and the Broadway, to have a pro shot of the production is a dream come true. You feel the heart of the show beating strong during a difficult time when we are all attempting to heal. Every character is brought to life with such vibrancy. It's a story sweet as pie. We're all searching for something more and may we find it as these characters did.

This is a tribute to Adrienne Shelly's film and her memory lives on.

First, this was a 2007 movie. It was released soon after Adrienne Shelly's brutal murder (which I will always associate with that Law & Order episode). It then became a Broadway musical and we're back to a movie. The obvious next step would be a full blown theatrical musical. Jenna Hunterson (Sara Bareilles) is a small town waitress and pie maker. Her life is turned upside down when she gets pregnant by her no-good boyfriend.

The singing is great. It is fun and cute. It has a heart-felt story. It is missing the pie making visuals. If they turn this into a theatrical musical, they could add that back. I do like the energy from the crowd, but the screen could never replace the real world experience. That will always hold it back in this form.