"Waitress"

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall

"Waitress" is based on the 2007 film of the same name written by Adrienne Shelly, a film that I have not seen, so this stage production is the first viewing of the story; the musical soundtrack I've been a fan of for a few years now though.

It's the story of Jenna (Aimee Fisher), a pie maker and waitress in a local eaterie, Joe's Diner, who is trapped in a marriage to Earl (Tamlyn Henderson), that she wants escape from. Things get worse for Jenna as she discovers that she is pregnant with his child. She yearns for bigger things and dreams of owning her own diner one day and making a fresh life on her own, away from Earl. She sees a possible way out, financially, if she won a pie baking competition in state.

With help from her diner friends, Becky (Wendy Mae Brown) and Dawn (Evelyn Hoskins), she has to overcome the obstacles she finds in her way to be able to reach her dreams. She then falls for the charming Dr Pomatter (David Hunter). Just one problem – he’s married as well!

There was a short delay to opening night as we discovered that Chelsea Halfpenny was not appearing as Jenna, so Aimee covered the role, rather well I must say. Hopefully Chelsea is OK. I'd been looking forward to seeing Chelsea in this role, but c'est la vie as they say; these things happen and it's situations like this that gives the understudy the break they have waited for.

You may also spot another soap legend in the cast as well. Michael Starke, who plays Joe, used to be in Brookside as Sinbad. You would not recognise Michael with his grey goatee and his Southern accent. His rendition of "Take It From An Old Man" was perfection.

Aimee Fisher must have been the most nervous of actors tonight, knowing that with minutes before the show was due to start that she was to be taking the starring role. Understudies will always dream of having the spotlight shone on them, but when that time comes, and it's always at the benefit of someone else's bad luck, their nerves will be through the roof, but the show must go on and Aimee did the show proud with her emotional performance, and tear-jerking version of "She used To Be Mine".

Wendy Mae Brown was so funny, just a certain look would kick-start a smile on my face, and she has a belter of a voice to go with that comedy styling. The song she opened the second act with, "I Didn't Plan It", after a certain transgression was revealed, was a belter.

Evelyn Hoskins was equally as comical, with that high pitched voice and her repressed urges, brought to the surface by Ogie (George Crawford), a man she meets online for a five-minute date which then lasts for the rest of the show. Both geeky, but the perfect geek match.

David Hunter, as Dr Jim Pomatter, has been described as a shy and nervous character in some reviews that I'd seen. In my mind, Dr Pomatter verges on being a sexual predator, and the comical sections made it seem quite wrong to laugh, but laugh I did all the same. All morality went straight out of the doctor's room window.

Tamlyn Henderson, who played Earl, I was half expecting to get a few "boos" when he appeared to take his bows, but he didn't. Earl was controlling and jealous of the attention Jenna showed to her friends and the reciprocation. He even made Jenna promise not to love the expected baby more than she loved him.

Earl is a seriously flawed character, and the ending for him is possibly one that a new mother may not have taken out of fear of possible retribution, but Jenna found the strength in her new position of responsibility to do what she deemed to be right for her, her new baby girl, and their future. Why I had pangs of empathy for him, I'm not sure.

I must also mention Christopher D. Hunt as Cal, who ran the pie shop. A non-major role but always seemed to be there in the background, and his dalliance with Becky made that scene unforgettable.

To add to the comedy and serious side of this musical, there was also added the "aaahhh" factor with Jenna's little girl, a few years later, and I am not sure which little lovely we saw tonight, but the role is shared by Olympia Fowkes and Arna Nigrelli. Both young ladies a bundle of cuteness.

The soundtrack is written by the incredibly talented Sara Bareilles and includes the gorgeous "She Used To Be Mine", which was delivered with such heart-felt emotion. Other stand out tracks from the soundtrack for me were "Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me", "Bad Idea", "You Matter To Me", "Take It From An Old Man" and "Everything Changes".

I have but two gripes about the show, but on the production side. I'm not sure if it is the acoustics in the Concert Hall, but sometimes the music seemed to swamp the vocals, the sound mix seemed at times to be in competition between the live band on stage, and the vocalists and I found myself having to really listen for the lyrics. Would the acoustics in the Theatre Royal have been better suited for the musical?

The other gripe was the follow spot seemed very wobbly in places, which took my attention away from the actor and their words.

The set design on the other hand was immense. The clarity of the back drop, which filled the Concert Hall stage from stage to roof. It was so realistic you wanted to wander on stage to open the doors and wander out beyond the diner.

This musical has the perfect recipe for a great night out at the theatre. With comedy as well as sadness, brilliant acting and a great soundtrack, it's as easy as pie to see why this is the massive hit it is. It's no way my favourite musical, but I did enjoy it, and would see it again.

"Waitress" is at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall until Saturday 23 July.