Posted: 8/23/15 at 1:59pm
dramamama611 said: "Great, another attention seeker to block.
"
I mean... it's a free country.
Posted: 8/23/15 at 2:48pm
Notwithstanding the troll's stupid comment, this show looks like it will be a near impossible sell to male audiences. Then again, that's clearly not the point with most Broadway musicals, and especially Waitress.
Posted: 8/24/15 at 6:44am
MikeHuckabae said: "I don't like this show. It devalues the importance of a father in a child's life.
She should have stayed with her husband.
"
Why on earth would she stay with an abusive and controlling husband???
Posted: 8/24/15 at 6:54am
liza is such an attention seeker
Posted: 8/24/15 at 8:15am
Huckabee is nothing more than a troll. He should not be addressed. After the statemw.t on this thread, I blocked him.
Posted: 8/31/15 at 7:14am
I saw the show again yesterday. Changes were made with Earl. His first scenes with Jenna(leading up to Door Number Three) now includes the scene he had with her in Act 2(which was taken out). He's more controlling and abusive with Jenna now. Door Number Three was rewritten also.
In Act 2 Everything Changes is now sung all the way through without the little scenes in between. A whole new scene with Jenna in the hospital with Becky, Dawn, Dr Pomatter and the baby was added after Everything Changes.The one thing I wish they wouldn't have taken out was when Jenna said "you delivered the baby and me" That one line was so powerful IMO. There were other small changes throughout the show.
Personally I think it's Broadway ready now with the changes they made.
Updated On: 8/31/15 at 07:14 AM
Posted: 8/31/15 at 7:51am
When did you first see the show? I saw what I think was the first frozen show (according to Paulus) and I certainly didn't think it was ready.
Posted: 8/31/15 at 3:05pm
^I saw it the first weekend of previews.
Charity was on a Becky yesterday. She's awesome and I think I liked her better then Keala. She's just as funny and not as over the top as Keala tends to be. Her "I Didn't Plan It" got the biggest applause in the whole show.
Posted: 8/31/15 at 9:57pm
I can't wait for this to transfers. Really loved it at the A.R.T.
Posted: 9/2/15 at 7:14pm
I finally caught this this past weekend and I was underwhelmed. Jessie Mueller is unquestionably the saving grace of this production - wow, she was remarkable. So real, so believable. Just perfect. I know the competition will be crazy this year, but her work is once again worthy of a Tony.
All of the music was quite good and very memorable - if anything, it's the placement of songs that needs more work. A lot of the moments just did not feel necessary to be musicalized. As others have mentioned,, the random dorky boyfriend character comes in and sings two below-average-not-funny songs that just have no place in this show whatsoever. But again, it's the book that needs the most attention here. A lot of the extra subplots need to be cut and the focus needs to stay on Mueller because she is so damn good, but also because her character is the story we are invested in. While I appreciated the other two waitresses and their friendships with Mueller, their stories are meaningless and very sitcomy.
Maybe because I was lucky enough to see Fun Home not too long, but this just wasn't emotionally fulfilling.... actually, thinking of Fun Home, this might also do very well in the round. Diane Paulus has been one of my favorites for a while, I hope she can turn this one around for Broadway (a place I'm not sure it belongs - who is the target audience for this?!).
Posted: 9/3/15 at 1:41am
After seeing Finding Neverland, I'm thinking Paulus isn't as imaginative as we'd thought.
Posted: 9/3/15 at 7:23am
^Or maybe she should just be like Bartlett Sher and stick to doing revivals.
Posted: 9/3/15 at 1:15pm
Maybe this should be like FUNNY GIRL, kick the extraneous material and just make it a powerhouse for the star.
Posted: 9/3/15 at 8:55pm
Or Bombshell!
Posted: 9/3/15 at 9:42pm
I'm just not sure Paulus gets musical theatre. With a revival all the work is done for you. But with a new musical it's all about song placement, song development, etc. And I'm not sure she gets that.
Posted: 9/6/15 at 5:04pm
Saw the show again earlier this week after seeing the first preview. I believe the changes have been pretty minor (some lyrics changes to songs in Act 1 and as the poster said above, Everything Changes is now sung full-through without scenes in-between). The book still needs the most work if they want a successful run. Brought a couple of friends and we all agreed that the story development didn't necessarily support the ending well so I really hope they fix that.
I enjoyed the score more now than I did the first preview. I think it's largely due to the fixed sound issues and I could understand some of the lyrics better. Definitely enjoyed most of the songs even more, although I still think one of Ogie's solos should get cut.
Also, I think everyone's grown into their roles quite well so I'm hoping they all stay with the show through the Broadway premiere.
Updated On: 9/6/15 at 05:04 PM
Posted: 9/6/15 at 5:33pm
Saw it today and noticed what someone had mentioned here a while ago: a substantial change since early previews in Earl's characterization. He used to have some soft edges and invite some ambivalence about him, or some comprehension (a glimpse?) of the part of him Jenna once loved. Today he seemed pure mean.
Posted: 9/8/15 at 8:18pm
I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago. I saw the show at A.R.T. end of August, and holy cow, was I impressed!
I wanted to see this because I became a fan of Jessie Mueller after seeing her in Beautiful. Otherwise I didn't have that high expectations for the show (there are several movie-musicals I've seen that have been less than stellar).
Not surprisingly, Jessie Mueller was an absolute standout.
Sara Bareilles's score is amazing! I can't wait for them to release a cast album. Very original, catchy and does a great job of advancing the plot and really highlighting the characters.
I had such a great time that I wanted to buy another ticket for a future date. Little did I know it was sold out. 
Good for the show, though. 
Updated On: 9/8/15 at 08:18 PM
Posted: 9/9/15 at 3:40am
Several songs won't get out of my head. "She Used To Be Mine," "Bad Idea," "I Didn't Plan It," and "Everything Changes." I wish there were a cast recording. Right now.
Posted: 10/23/15 at 3:29pm
In case anyone is interested, Sara Bareilles released a second single from her Waitress concept album today. It's "Bad Idea" sung be her and Jason Mraz - sounds great! This is one of the upbeat, catchy numbers from the show and it sounds great.
You can also preorder the whole album "What's Inside: Songs from Waitress" on iTunes and Amazon. I think it comes out Nov. 6.
Posted: 10/23/15 at 3:39pm
Thanks NJ_BroadwayGirl!
Has there been any casting news beyond Mueller?
Posted: 10/23/15 at 4:04pm
No additional casting that I'm aware of. I did see a chorus call somewhere - I wasn't looking for it so I can't remember the details.
Posted: 10/23/15 at 4:08pm
Will this affect Jessie, joining the show?
Posted: 10/23/15 at 4:15pm
I'm sure it won't. She's been with Waitress since the beginning and they just recently announced her signing on for the lead role. I also doubt there is a conflict since it's only October now and she probably has a few months before rehearsals start. This is just a recurring role, not a series regular, so I can't imagine that would take precedent for her. (edited I accidentally said ABC Family as the network bc I misread the headline) Also, it's filming in New York so it's local.
It is funny that the synopsis says she's playing a sweet bakeshop employee considering her character in Waitress is a baker.
Updated On: 10/23/15 at 04:15 PM
