Now officially open in the West End, Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews for the London production of Sara Bareilles’ musical.
Evening Standard: **** “The show has cartoonish elements, but mostly subverts its moments of sentimentality and silliness, and there’s a whole lot of humour baked into it.”
WhatsOnStage: **** “McPhee is undoubtedly one of the reasons to go to see Waitress. Her pure, powerful voice lends heft and passion to songs such as the confessional “She Used to Be Mine” and complexity to her constant musings on baking.”
Musical Manda: **** “Sweet and funny, Waitress is certain to make your mouth water and heart sing.”
The Guardian: *** “The performances, in Diane Paulus’s lively production, are very much part of the show’s appeal. Katharine McPhee, from the original New York cast, endows Jenna with a vulnerability, kindness and inbuilt sadness that only finds release in her extramarital fling: she also delivers her big climactic solo with real verve.”
Rewrite This Story: **** “Waitress is a show that takes you off the beaten track and provides a more intimate, less flashy show compared to those we usually see. This nuanced musical is a sweet treat that will warm your heart, purely thanks to it’s quirkiness and affectionate score.”
The Independent: **** “Admittedly, there are moments of discomfort but it says a lot for the fast sass and wonderful take-it-or-leave it silliness and the occasional sugar-free sequences in Jessie Nelson’s deft book that the spot-on cast in Diane Paulus’s production mostly manage to give these elisions an elating good humour and humanity.”
LondonTheatre1: **** ” in the end, there’s hope for anyone who seeks a better life than the one they’ve currently got in this comforting and charming production. A diner worth visiting.”
Time Out: *** “McPhee gives a beautifully weary performance, setting the tone for a mostly British cast that treats the serious bits seriously and goes balls-to-the-wall on the daft stuff. Sara Bareilles’s country-rock-ish songs are funny, literate and enjoyable, with one stone-cold banger in ‘She Used to be Mine’. And Paulus really shows us why they pay her the big bucks: she keeps everything moving with a slick dynamism that frequently belies the changes in set, scene and tone. There’s really a lot to like; I just struggled to like all of it all at once.”
The Telegraph: “I have to confess to craving a slice of humble-pie after watching Waitress, the latest big Broadway musical import, set in a Southern diner specialising in home-made pies.”
Musical Theatre Lives in Me: “Waitress is a sugary show, sweetly sassy and passionate, with each moment just as delicious as the last.”
There Ought to be Clowns: “The result is a show which is funnier and lighter than you might expect, full of musical treats and sugary warmth.”
The Reviews Hub: *** “It is as American as Cherry Pie, sweet and flavoursome but also saccharine and over-earnest. Waitress has a lot of really great moments propelled by some excellent performances, but something is missing from the recipe.”
Mind The Blog: ***** “A new musical that proves that when you get the basic ingredients right, you really are in for a treat – the music & book are brilliant, and it is performed to Star Baker standard.”
The Spy in the Stalls: **** “Waitress is not flawless, and is in no way a revolution for musical theatre, but the restless sense of joy and fun it invokes cannot be overstated – this show is utterly delectable.”
Waitress continues to play at the Adelphi Theatre. To book tickets click here or visit: See Tickets, Theatre Tickets Direct.co.uk, From the Box Office, Last Minute.com, Love Theatre.com or Encore Tickets.