The winningest Broadway musical romcom since Elle Woods stole hearts in Legally Blonde finally gets its Southern California regional theatre premiere as La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment treat SoCal audiences to Waitress.

The heart-stealer this time round is Jenna Hunterton (Desi Oakley), whose lovingly confectioned, cutely named pies—Marshmallow Mermaid Pie, A Little Wild, Wild, Berry Pie, etc.—are easily the most ordered sweet treats on the menu of the southern road stop diner where she works for tips that get promptly pocketed by her lout of a husband Earl (Brian Krinsky).

No wonder then that Jenna is none too happy when a home pregnancy test turns up positive, though at the very least she’s got fellow waitresses Dawn (Rianny Vasquez) and Becky (Dominique Kent) as emotional backup, something she’s sorely in need of not, and not just at home.

Joe’s Diner chef Cal (Brian Calì) is never one to hold back on barking commands, and curmudgeonly owner/customer Joe (Cleavant Derricks) is nothing if not picky in his breakfast orders.

In other words, the last thing Jenna needs when she goes in for official confirmation of her positive home pregnancy test results is the discovery that her lifelong (female) doctor has retired and her position taken over by a big city OB/GYN (Ben Jacoby as Dr. Jim Pomater), attractive as can be but with a wedding ring on his finger that kind of puts a damper on his goofy charm.

Meanwhile back at the diner, ditzy Dawn tries out online dating and comes up with the equally oddball Ogie (Jared Gertner) as her purportedly perfect match, while the friction between the orders-barking Cal and sassy-tongued Becky is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

As for Jenna, with a baby on the way, an out-of-work husband insistent that his wife must never ever love their child more than she loves him, and little or no way out of the mess she’s in, things could not look bleaker, that is unless she can hide enough dollar tips to enter a local pie-baking contest, win first place, and use the prize money to buy her escape.

Like the aforementioned (and similarly female-empowering) Legally Blonde, Waitress takes as its source material a hit movie romcom and stirs in song and dance, in this case a dozen-and-a-half of the catchiest tunes and cleverest lyrics ever written for a Broadway musical by a certified pop superstar.

Book writer Jessie Nelson wisely sticks to plot elements that made Adrienne Shelly’s original screenplay work so well while allowing Tony/Emmy nominee (and Grammy winner) Sara Bareilles’s eclectic songs to propel the plot to clever, tuneful effect.

Director Abbey O’Brien brings out the absolute best from her almost entirely L.A.-based cast of triple-threats as choreographers Cost N’ Mayor get diner customers popping up out of their seats to provide baking-moves backup or create mini “recipe ballets” spiced with ingenious ingredients-inspired props.

Waitress’s two out-of-town imports bring abundant talent and charisma and charm to roles they’ve most recently played in Ogunquit, Maine, Oakley proving herself the most luminous and gorgeous-piped of leading ladies, getting us to root for this proverbial underdog while inwardly screaming out our frustration at her continued bad choices.

Jacoby, meanwhile, reveals so much awkward, nerdy charm as Jenna’s OB/GYN that no wonder the waitress is smitten.

Vasquez and Gertner steal every scene they’re in as oddballs in love and the equally fabulous Kent and Calì ignite their own electric sparks in the most unexpected of ways.

Broadway legend Derrick reveals a heart of gold under Joe’s curmudgeonly exterior, Krinsky aces the tough task of getting us to understand if not excuse what makes Earl such a louse, and Ashley Támar Davis does some scene-stealing of her own as Dr. Jim’s feisty Nurse Norma.

Triple-threat ensemble members Johnisa Breault, Ricky Bulda, Michael Bullard, Davis, Grant Hodges, dance captain Michael James, Tayler Mettra, and Ashley Moniz spice up the tasty mix from start to finish in multiple cameo roles, and child performer Annabelle Bergold (alternating with Layni Rose Cowden) is as cute as a button.

Design elements* are all-around Grade A, in particular a Broadway scenic design by Scott Pask that not only takes us to Waitress’s multiple locales but makes sure we know just how smack dab in the middle of nowhere they all are, and ace music director Jennifer Lin and her onstage band deserve their own cheers.

Casting is by Julia Flores. Emma Nossal and Alec Talbott are swings. Jill Gold is production stage manager and Lisa Palmire and Audrey Colindres are assistant stage managers. David Elzer is publicist.

Eschewing the recent Broadway trend towards gimmicks, spectacle, bombast, or a combination of the three, Waitress does what a quality musical is supposed to do. It combines book, music, lyrics, song, and dance to grab an audience by the heart and never let go.

SoCal audiences should jump at the chance to catch its long-awaited Southern California premiere.

*Suttirat Larlarb (costumes), Brian Gale (lighting), Josh Besson (sound), Kaitlin Yagen (hair/wigs)

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Boulevard, La Mirada. Through October 13.
www.lamiradatheatre.com

–Steven Stanley
September 21, 2024
Photos: Jason Niedle

Tags: Adrienne Shelly, Jessie Nelson, La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts, Los Angeles Theater Review, McCoy Rigby Entertainment, Sara Bareilles