Waitress is a Dramaturgical Wreck- Page 2

[kelsey1389]

Posted: 9/26/18 at 7:16pm

Bwayfan292 said: "I think the biggest crime is the price they sell the “pies in a cup” for.."

Well apparently Jenna is working 30 hours of overtime a week, so I guess they have to up-charge

 

[theaterwiz414]

Posted: 9/26/18 at 8:01pm

iWannaBEaSedaris said: "1. Jenna is fundamentally a liar.
When in the bathroom during her morning sickness episode early in act one, her friend Dawn questions “I thought you don’t sleep with your husband” to which she responds, “He got me drunk, I do stupid things when I drink”.
Later in her appointment with her gynecologist, so unsure is she about ‘when’ the pregnancy began that she asks “How pregnant am I?”
This means one of two things: Jenna enjoys sexual congress with her husband regularly and lies about it to her friends, or, she has been engaging in sexual exploits outside of her marriage.

2. There is no timeline in which Jenna has the time to be both Waitress and Pie Maker.
She says to Pomatter in Act 1 “oh I make the pies FRESH every day”, and that there are 27 different varieties of pie. The pie prep and baking time would consume over 6 hours of her day at least, and that’s with a commercial oven. The diner is open for breakfast and presumably lunch as well, let’s say it closes at 3. And since we know that she doesn’t bake before opening, as she arrives with the rest of the waitresses before the song ‘When he sees me’ this means she is baking from 3-9 or after daily. She repeatedly says how her husband Earl drives her to and from work.
No wonder he, very understandably says, “I’m not sure it’s worth you working at this diner” If she waited tables and baked it would add up to a 14 hour day every day. This would push her into 30 hours of overtime a week. This arrangement seems highly improbable.

3. Although the show takes place over 7&1/2 months, the costuming if the show never changes with seasons. Summer dresses and light jackets trap the characters in a perpetually nebulous season that tells no story of the passing of time.

4. Earl Hunterson is half owner of LuLu’s Pies. At the time of the bequest of the Pie Shop from Old Joe to Jenna, Earl and Jenna, while perhaps having begun the divorce proceedings, would not have had time to complete them. This would entitle Earl to a half ownership stake in Lulu’s Pie Shop.

5. We know that Jenna gives birth in a hospital. Old Joe says, “I bought you this card in the gift shop downstairs”. If Jenna is in a hospital, why is Norma, a private practice OB GYN nurse helping with the delivery at the hospital? It would be highly irregular to find a private practice nurse in a hospital setting. It’s a logical incongruity.

6. The play severely fails the reverse Bechdel test. It paints its male characters as one dimensional props that only exist in relationship to the women around them. At no point in the show do two men talk to each other about something other than a woman.

7. The Revolutionary War re-enactment community is a rather small one. This means one of two things: Dawn is lying about her participation, Ogie is lying about his. Both claim to have participated in the re-enactment community for well over a decade. If Dawn played the pivotal role of a Betsy Ross re-enactor, it’s highly unlikely that Ogie wouldn’t be familiar with her work. Additionally, a re-enactment injury such as Ogie’s spleen removal would hardly go unmentioned in the insular local re-enacting community. Also if both attended such events as local readings of the federalist papers, it’s highly unlikely that they would be complete strangers.

8. Dawn ended the close relationship Ogie shares with his mother. In every scene before the wedding, Ogie mentions his mother with glowing admiration. By the time the wedding occurs, she is not even present at the ceremony.
"

You have wayyyy too much free time to over analyze and tear apart what people love. Go away. Get a life. 

[SchuylWERKsister]

Posted: 9/26/18 at 8:27pm

JBroadway said: "Why would anyone lie about being a professional dramaturg? "

BYE! I truly laughed out loud.

[Elegance101]

Posted: 9/26/18 at 8:41pm

"Don't overthink it!"

Me: Got it.

Also me:

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 9/26/18 at 8:41pm

dianamorales said: "Wait, but the show takes place in the south. Most southern states didn't exist during the Revolutionary War- what battles could they be reenacting? The Civil War would be way more likely."

Not entirely true. Several southern states did exist, not yet formally, but they had declared independence from the crown, had official names, their own governments and governors, militia, and many with state constitutions. But they had not yet officially ratified the Constitution to enter the Union, which came after the Revolutionary War had ended, to officially achieve statehood.   

As for which battles they would be re-enacting, try the Battle of Yorktown, which was a turning point for the war. 

Updated On: 9/26/18 at 08:41 PM

[JSquared2]

Posted: 9/26/18 at 8:51pm

I would pay to hear Jesse Tyler Ferguson do a dramatic reading of this thread.

This is why nobody likes you people!

[darquegk]

Posted: 9/26/18 at 9:21pm

No, this one calls for Amy Sedaris in full Princes Caroline mode.

[thegamesiplay]

Posted: 9/26/18 at 9:39pm

Oh man, where to begin with this.

#2 is wrong because we see the diner closing in the evening multiple times. Jenna makes Dawn a pie for her dinner date. She waits at night for her bus home and runs into Dr. Pomatter at the end of his 9-5 shift which is a typical shift for a specialist.

The pie shop clearly rotates the 27 variety of pies. I can tell you’ve never made a pie either because more often than not they prep the materials such as a crust overnight to bake in the morning.

Also bear in mind Nurse Norma used to work for the OBGYN who delivered Jenna when she was born. The OBGYN is likely an extention of the hospital, it is a small town and most hospitals have multiple departments within them. Dr. Pomatter replaced the OBGYN who helped Jenna’s mother give birth to her because the previous OBGYN semi-retired.

Oh, and the show takes place in Missouri, not the south. The Springfield Pie Contest is in Missouri.

Updated On: 9/26/18 at 09:39 PM

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 9/26/18 at 9:40pm

I at least agree that Waitress as a musical is pretty problematic. Jessie Nelson's script feels a little longer than it needs to be (it’s no surprise to me that Waitress was the only one of the five 2016 Best Musical nominees that wasn’t nominated for Best Book of a Musical). Sara Bareilles' score is nice, but it doesn't feel complete. Like there are moments in the show where Jenna fantasizes pies she creates in her mind, but they feel like missed opportunities for full-fledged musical numbers. That's why characters sing in musicals, to express inner thoughts and emotions that would never be done justice through spoken dialogue. That's not to say that Waitress doesn't have its moments, because it actually does. I especially feel that the show does get better in the second act where it has more moments of heart. Though I definitely felt that the onstage chorus during Jenna's solo numbers felt overused as well as the onstage band. I at least didn't mind the solo guitarist onstage for the number, 'A Soft Place to Land'.

I wish there was a little more background on why and how Jenna ended up with Earl. I also personally found the character of Ogie to be creepy, weird, and such an oddball, that I just had a hard time finding him likable. Some of the issues felt pretty simplistic and there was a scene that didn't feel dramatic enough to end the first act. It seems to me that director Diane Paulus hasn’t been as successful on new musicals as she has been with revivals. Though at least this wasn’t some lumbering bore like Finding Neverland.

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 9/26/18 at 10:03pm

Jeffrey, I totally agree about Ogie. For a show that's otherwise pretty great about showing the difference between healthy and not-healthy ways to treat a romantic partner, it felt really off to have him "win" Dawn with a song about "haha isn't stalking funny and cute."

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 9/26/18 at 10:36pm

Also for number 7, Dawn cleary states shes the understudy or standby for Betsy Ross but she hasnt actually gone on.

[KFC1991]

Posted: 9/27/18 at 5:05am

The OP is like our modern day Bernhardt, daring to question the greatness of our modern day Hamlet (Waitress).

[rjm516]

Posted: 9/27/18 at 9:09am

This is hilarious! Thanks for this! So funny I almost really believe that you think these things and aren't just trying to be silly :) Especially the 'reverse Bechdel test' line, HAHA that's a good one. Like that would ever be a thing! Great stuff.

/s

Kad said: "You're not gonna be a Sedaris if this is what you're offering them."

my first thought too hahaha

 

[VotePeron]

Posted: 9/27/18 at 9:18am

This is hilarious - one of my favorite posts on this board!! Smart, accurate, and not ridiculously offensive to the show. It's a great parody on it.

I feel like if we were to tweet a screenshot of this to Sara Bareilles she'd respond. Can't wait for Tumblr and stan Instagram to pick up on this. 

[John Adams]

Posted: 9/27/18 at 10:28am

iWannaBEaSedaris - Which one, Amy or David? Oh, who am I kidding? They're both amazing. I admire your aspiration.

Where do you factor in:

Suspension of Disbelief - a willingness to suspend one's critical faculties and believe something surreal; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment.