Line #80 Theatre/Waitress


1	[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/waitress_musical_broadway_poster.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:220:''Let's see the next amazing thing baking does now.'']]
3
4	->''"Sugar\
5	Butter\
6	Flour"''
7	-->-- The show's ArcWords
8
9	''Waitress'' is a musical with music and lyrics written by Music/SaraBareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson, based on [[Film/{{Waitress}} the Adrienne Shelly film]]. Originally premiering at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts in August 2015, ''Waitress'' made the move to Broadway in April 2016, premiering at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
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11	The musical tells the story of BrokenBird Jenna Hunterson, a waitress with an incredible flair for baking pies stuck in an abusive marriage. Things only get worse for Jenna when an unwanted pregnancy comes out of the marriage but she soon finds solace in her gynaecologist, Dr. Pomatter.
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13	The original Broadway cast features Jessie Mueller as Jenna Hunterson, Drew Gehling as Dr. Jim Pomatter, Creator/NickCordero as Earl Hunterson, Keala Settle as Becky, Creator/KimikoGlenn as Dawn Williams, Dakin Matthews as Joe and Christopher Fitzgerald as Ogie Anhorn.
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15	The musical received a limited revival in Fall 2021, with Sara Bareilles as Jenna for the first couple of months. A FilmedStageProduction was produced from this run; it was theatrically released in November 2023.
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17	----
18
19	!! ''Waitress'' contains examples of:
20	%%* AdaptationDistillation: Most of the subplots in the movie are pared down so they can be portrayed onscreen.
21	* AmbiguouslyGay: It's implied that Cal's wife is a lesbian during "I Didn't Plan It".
22	* ArcWords: The words ''sugar, butter, flour'' are sang throughout the musical; they're the three primary ingredients in pastry.
23	* {{Anaphora}}: "She Used To Be Mine" features one:
24	-->She's imperfect but she tries\
25	'''She is''' good but she lies\
26	'''She is''' hard on herself\
27	'''She is''' broken and won't ask for help\
28	'''She is''' messy but she's kind\
29	'''She is''' lonely most of the time\
30	'''She is''' all of this mixed up\
31	And baked in a beautiful pie\
32	'''She is''' gone, but she used to be mine
33	* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: Throughout the musical Jenna frequently mentions that while she is going to have her baby, if given a choice she'd rather not have it. When she finally gives birth, her baby, Lulu, gives her the strength and courage to leave Earl and demand a divorce.
34	* BetaCouple: Dawn and Ogie's love story ends up inspiring Jenna in many ways. To a lesser extent, [[spoiler: Becky and Cal]] also serve this purpose.
35	* BelligerentSexualTension: Becky and Cal are always sniping at each other, even before their affair is revealed.
36	* BrokenBird: Jenna is a NiceGirl who is beaten and emotionally abused by her husband and her feelings are best explored in "She Used to Be Mine":
37	--> '''Jenna:''' She is hard on herself, she is broken and won't ask for help.
38	* BSODSong: Jenna sings "She Used To Be Mine" after having to lie to her abusive husband about the money she was saving to start a new life. The lyrics deal with her realizing just how much of a shell of her former self she's become because of her marriage.
39	* CopeByCreating: As in the film, Jenna uses pie baking as an outlet for her problems. Now put to song in “What Baking Can Do”:
40	--> Even doubt can be delicious\
41	And it washes off of all the dirty dishes\
42	When it’s done, I can smile\
43	It’s on someone else’s plate for a while
44	* DeadpanSnarker: Cal and Becky both get their good share of digs in. Joe counts as well.
45	* DomesticAbuse:
46	** Earl berates Jenna, taking the tips she makes from work and makes her doubt her abilities, saying that she's "no Sara Lee". It reaches its peak when he goes to hit Jenna and only doesn't because she says she's pregnant.
47	** A brief scene in "What Baking Can Do" shows that Jenna's own mother was victim to Jenna's abusive father as well, as the flashback lighting shows him getting violent with her.
48	%%* EroticEating: Happens during "Bad Idea Reprise".
49	%%* EveryonesBabySister: Jenna is this to ''everyone''.
50	* DreamBallet: Jenna goes into labor with the appropriately titled number "Contraction Ballet", a surreal, spotlight number where Jenna, surrounded by other pregnant women, perform choreography to the baby's HeartbeatSoundtrack.
51	* EveryoneHasLotsOfSex: "Bad Idea Reprise" has all three waitresses and their partners have sex in three different locations.
52	* {{Fauxshadow}}: There are several signs early on that Jenna will win the Springfield Pie Contest and use the prize money to get a new life after she leaves her husband. In the end [[spoiler:she doesn't even get to ''enter'' that year's contest]].
53	* GenderFlip: The character of Joe is typically a man played by a man. However, when June Squibb played the role Joe became Josie.
54	* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: Invoked and discussed in "I Didn't Plan It". Becky calls out Jenna for being a {{Hypocrite}} for feeling her affair is justified do to Earl being a {{Jerkass}}, and thinking Becky's is wrong since her own husband has medical needs and they both know Cal's wife.
55	* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Dr. Pomatter suggests a doctor to who can perform one for Jenna, and she refuses. While she's not entirely enthusiastic about her pregnancy, she doesn't want an abortion. Though, she does ''not'' judge anyone else if they decide to get one.
56	* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: In the musical (most productions Jenna is a blonde), Dawn states that Jenna is "the queen of kindness and goodness".
57	* IdiotBall: Jenna hiding some of her money all around the house, rather than at work. Her coworkers are less likely to steal it, and Earl ''never'' enters the pie shop kitchen.
58	* ImagineSpot: This happens quite frequently when Jenna invents a new pie in her head.
59	* InterruptedIntimacy:
60	** Norma walks in on Jim and Jenna quite a few times.
61	** Jenna walks in on Becky and Cal at the diner.
62	* IllPretendIDidntHearThat: When Dawn talks about her sex life with Ogie, Cal remarks that that was something he did ''not'' need to know.
63	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: All snark aside, it is shown Cal is ''very'' protective of his staff.
64	* JobTitle: Jenna is the titular waitress but co-workers Becky and Dawn have their own lives explored too.
65	* KinkyRoleplaying: It's shown that Ogie and Dawn dress in full American Revolution costumes during their sexcapades.
66	%%* MoralityPet: Jenna is this for Joe and Cal.
67	* NerdsAreVirgins: Played straight with Dawn until she meets Ogie. It's ''heavily'' implied that both are virgins until they realize they're [[BirdsOfAFeather perfect for each other]], and then have epic sexcapades in "Bad Idea Reprise".
68	* OneWordTitle: Named for its protagonist's profession.
69	* ProtagonistTitle: As the JobTitle is the protagonist's job.
70	* SassyBlackWoman: Becky talks back to Cal the most out of the waitresses and while Keala Settle, the actress who originated the role of Becky, is of Māori descent, many of the actresses who followed her have been black.
71	** Nurse Norma counts as well. She is ''very'' aware of Jenna and Dr. Pomatter's affair, and constantly makes snarky remarks about it.
72	* SexAtWork:
73	** Becky and Call have sex in the diner's kitchen. Of course they get walked in on.
74	** Dr. Pomatter and Jenna have sex in his office quite frequently.
75	%%* ShrinkingViolet: Dawn discusses this in "When He Sees Me".
76	* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Becky and Cal go head to head quite a few times.
77	* TheUnreveal: Unlike in the film, we never find out if Jenna wins the pie contest in Springfield, but it doesn't matter because Joe leaves her the pie shop. However, during the finale, Jenna holds a pie with a blue ribbon on it, so she won ''a'' pie contest at some point, it's just not clear when.
78	* VillainSong: Earl is the closest thing to an antagonist the show has, and has a duet with Jenna, called "You Will Still Be Mine"

Context Theatre / Waitress