On and Off Broadway

'Waitress'

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Good theater is a feast for the senses, though usually sight and sound. The new musical "Waitress," based on the movie by Adrienne Shelly, goes one step further, captivating your sense of smell as soon as you enter the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. There’s the wafting odor of a freshly baked apple pie, and you can even buy a “pie in a cup” from the strolling salespeople in the theater.

The waitress in the title is Jenna (played by the wonderful Jessie Mueller) a young woman trapped in an abusive marriage who learns that she’s pregnant. She’s not happy about the pregnancy that entraps her even more. Eventually she connects to the child she carries and talks to the baby. Each day she bakes pies for the restaurant in which she works. Baking is an art for her as she sings “Sugar, butter, flour” and it is also an escape. Each of Jenna’s pies represents her thoughts and state of mind and bears an unlikely name like "Betrayed By My Eggs Pie" and "I Don't Want Earl's Baby Pie." Her baking may also be her way out when she learns about a competition with a large cash prize.

Jenna is the straight man surrounded by quirky characters. Their stories are more humorous and lighten the show. She has two colleagues, Becky and Dawn. Becky, played by Keala Settles, a large lady with a large voice, is prone to wisecracks as she’s offering important insights. She advises Jenna to leave her husband. Settles is hysterical with fine comic delivery.

In contrast in size, but not character, is the quirky Dawn, played by Kimiko Glenn. She’s slight and diffident. Dawn is tightly wound until she meets an even quirkier man through an Internet site. It’s hard not to smile when she falls in love with Ogie, portrayed by Christopher Fitzgerald, whose one number brings the house down. They say there’s someone for everyone, and Dawn and Ogie are perfectly matched, including their love of Revolutionary War re-enactments.

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