The one musical that Esther really wanted to see, besides Hamilton of course, was Waitress. I am so glad that she suggested it because I don't think I would have picked it if left to my own devices and I ended up loving it so much. It is absolutely amazing with incredible music by Sara Bareilles and a powerful performance by Jessie Mueller, both of whom were nominated for a Tony. The musical is based on the 2007 independent film of the same name and tells the story of how Jenna (Mueller) uses baking to cope with her dead-end job as a waitress and her unhappy marriage to Earl (Nick Cordero). When she unexpectedly becomes pregnant and then begins an affair with her gynecologist (Drew Gehling), she feels as if her life is spiraling out of control and decides that her only hope is to enter a pie baking contest to use the prize money to begin a new life. Whenever life gets to be too much for Jenna, everything around her freezes and she gives the audience the recipe for a pie that would help her situation, always beginning with, "Sugar. Butter. Flour." In the end she realizes that the one ingredient missing from her pies is courage! There are parts of the story that are so funny and parts that brought tears to my eyes. The music is brilliant and I loved every single song. My very favorite was "She Used to Be Mine" because Mueller performed it with so much passion (Did you see her perform it at the Tonys?) that I literally cried through the whole thing. I loved the fact that the cast actually makes pies throughout the show and that they place them in large pie coolers (like you see at Village Inn) on both sides of the proscenium. It is an amazing show and I am so glad that I got to see the original Broadway cast!
Note: At intermission you could buy individual servings of pie in tiny Mason jars! I got cookies and cream pie and Esther got Key lime pie. So much fun!
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