In a performance in which singing and acting are perfectly fused, Ashley Moniz makes us care about every egg-beating turn in Jenna’s journey.
Jenna Hunterson (Ashley Moniz; 1st Nat’l Tour—“Kinky Boots”) is a “pie genius,” having inherited her late mother’s gift for thinking up scrumptiously imaginative baked goods. Each day, her latest confectionary creations draw loyal customers to Joe’s Pie Shop in a small Southern town. And each day, she barely eeks out a living, relying on her tips to make ends meet.
But Jenna is now facing a real life crisis. Coerced by her friends, she discovers she’s pregnant, and doesn’t greet the news with the traditional excitement. This is primarily because her husband, Earl (Brian Krinsky; Nat’l Tour—“Anything Goes”), is a brutish lout who snatches Jenna’s tips as soon as she gets off work, glowering at her if he feels she hasn’t brought home enough money. He also makes her promise not to love the new baby more than himself.
She yearns to leave him but has nowhere to go—and there’s enough threat of violence in his demeanor that she squirrels away what money she can, thinking her only option is to make a dash for freedom and try to forge out a new life for herself and her child.
Directed by Abbey O’Brien (“Moulin Rouge;” “Jagged Little Pill”), McCoy Rigby Entertainment presents the Regional Theatrical Premiere of WAITRESS, now performing through October 13th at La Mirada Theatre as the first offering of the 2024-25 season. The show is Musically Directed by Jennifer Lin (“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”) and Co-Choreographed by popular husband and wife team, Cost N’ Mayor (“Pentatonix”).
Based on the 2007 indie film by the late writer-director Adrienne Shelly, WAITRESS has been whipped into an expertly constructed, emotionally satisfying tale of self-liberation. Jessie Nelson’s (“Corina Corina”) broadly comic yet brooding book meshes wonderfully with a frisky, bright score by Tony/Emmy/Grammy-nominated singer/actress/pop star Sara Bareilles (2007 number one hit: “Love Song”), drawing mainly on the sounds of country music reflecting the Southern setting, but also containing traditional Broadway-pop balladry.
Bareilles’ custom-built earworms, for instance, address workplace pluck (“Opening Up”), first-date jitters (“When He Sees Me”), quirky, obsessive love (“Never Ever Getting Rid of Me”) and an eleventh-hour ballad of losing one’s sense of self from the perspective of the musical’s protagonist, Jenna (“She Used to Be Mine”), as she seeks to find a voice for the nascent, regenerating woman within her. Suddenly, during these four short minutes, this polished, weightless musical comedy rises to transporting heights, and sweeps up your heart along with it.
Ms. Moniz, who possesses a rich, soulful and emotionally translucent voice, and an ability to bring heaping cupfuls of subtext to her acting, plays a perky Southern gal who can confect a mouthwatering Mermaid Marshmallow Pie with little effort, but can’t seem to measure the right ingredients for her own personal happiness.
Life brightens somewhat when Jenna starts an affair with the married ob/gyn Dr. Pomatter (played with endearingly goofy charm by Ben Jacoby; Brdwy—“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”). Dr. Pomatter is amiable, funny, accomplished and, most of all, understanding. All the things Earl is not. Soon they are, yes, singing a duet, “It Only Takes a Taste,” which prefigures the unlikely fling they impulsively begin.
Ambivalent about this new relationship, Jenna draws support from her fellow waitresses in the diner, who's also quite busy with their own hookups: Dominique Kent’s salty, sex-starved Becky (“It was gettin' so quiet down there you could hear an echo”), who not only did the same role in the 2nd National Tour, but has a wonderfully sassy earthiness as well as a big, R&B-flavored voice. And an equally artful Rianny Vasquez (Nat'l Tour—"El Otro Oz") portrays a naïve and ditzy Dawn, an endearing History-Channel-watching, Revolutionary-War-enacting Betsy Ross looking for her Paul Revere.
When Dawn is encouraged by her co-workers to dip her toe at least into the shallow end of the dating pool, she immediately meets her “mad stalking elf”—a hilariously quirky Ogie (Jared Gertner; Brdwy—“The Book of Mormon”), who’s instantly smitten. So smitten that he shows up at the diner the morning after their five-minute date and proceeds to vow eternal devotion in an ebullient knee-slapping country number, “Never Ever Getting Rid of Me”—one that Mr. Gertner quite simply knocks out of the ballpark (reminding me so much of Jon Lovitz in his heyday, and possibly giving us the splashiest and most memorable song in the first act.)
Meanwhile, Jenna has also come under the quietly protective visage of the diner’s cranky owner Joe, gracefully and curmudgeonly played by veteran actor Cleavant Derricks (Brdwy—“Dreamgirls”), taking a plum acting role that marked one of Andy Griffith’s final screen appearances.
There’s also the gruff, flirtatious and unflappable Cal (Brian Cali; Brdwy—"Pretty Woman"), the kitchen boss, who is “married to Ethel, whom he thinks is gay as they haven’t slept together in 15 years.”
There are good things in the second act, which is more lyrical and less silly. At the head of Act Two, Ms. Kent’s Becky stops vamping and gets serious in “I Didn’t Plan It.” Mr. Jacoby’s eerily beautiful voice turns his love duet with Ms. Moniz (“You Matter to Me”) into a heartbreaker. And a very talented Mr. Derricks steps out and into the audience’s arms with his warm and witty solo, “Take It from an Old Man.”
LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & MCCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS, THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL THEATRE PREMIERE OF WAITRESS, with book by Jessie Nelson (Corrina, Corrina) and music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles (Emmy nominated series, “Girls5eva”). Based upon the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly, musical direction is by Jennifer Lin (”Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”), choreography by Cost n’ Mayor (GRAMMY® Award-winning group Pentatonix), and direction by Abbey O’Brien (“Moulin Rouge”). The Design Team also features Lighting Design by Brian Gale, Sound Design by Josh Bessom, Costume Coordination by Adam Ramirez, Hair/Wig Design by Kaitlin Yagen, and Properties Supervision by Kevin Williams. Casting Director is Julia Flores and Production Stage Manager is Jill Gold.
The Cast of WAITRESS features Desi Oakley as “Jenna,” Ben Jacoby as “Dr. James Pomatter,” Brian Krinsky as “Earl,” Cleavant Derricks as “Joe,” Dominique Kent as “Becky,” Brian Calì as “Cal,” Rianny Vasquez as “Dawn,” Jared Gertner as “Ogie,” Ashley Moniz as “Jenna’s Mother/Ensemble,” Ashley Támar Davis as “Nurse Norma/Ensemble,” Johnisa Breault as “Francine/Ensemble,” Annabelle Bergold & Layni Rose Cowden (at some performances) as “Lulu.” The Ensemble features (in alphabetical order): Ricky Bulda, Michael Bullard, Grant Hodges, Michael James, and Tayler Mettra. Swings are Emma Nossal and Alec Talbott.
NOTE: At this performance, the role of Jenna, usually played by Desi Oakley, was played by Ashley Moniz. Jenna’s Mother (and others), usually played by Ashley Moniz, was played by Emma Nossal. The roles usually played by Grant Hodges was played by Alec Talbott.
WAITRESS officially opened on Saturday, September 21st and will run through Sunday, October 13th at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada. SPECIAL ‘WAITRESS’ THEMED CELEBRATIONS FEATURED A PIE EATING CONTEST THIS PAST SEPTEMBER 29th, A SING ALONG TO “SARA” WITH KARA KARAOKE (Sunday, October 6th at 5 pm), and THE GREAT LA MIRADA THEATRE PIE BAKE-OFF (Final Judging - Saturday, October 12th at 7 pm). Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 pm; Fridays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 2 pm & 8 pm; and Sundays at 1:30 pm & 6:30 pm. Tickets range from $19 - $85 and can be purchased at www.LaMiradaTheatre.com or by calling the La Mirada Theatre Box Office at (562) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310. Group and military discounts are also available.
Chris Daniels
Arts & Entertainment Reviewer
The Show Report
PHOTO CREDITS: Jason Niedle/ TETHOS
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