Waitress on Tour- Page 3

[JennH]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 10:11am

trpguyy said: "RippedMan said: "Touring is the same salary on Broadway plus the added benefit of a per diem. Plus, most people sublet/rent out their apartments, so months and months of not paying rent plus per diem. They're able to save a lot of money. Plus, at least for me, I like touring and seeing different theaters/cities. "

Same salary *if* it's a Full Production contract, which most are not. 

 

"

Exactly. This one is a SETA though I don't think it's the lowest SETA Tier, but it's definitely not a full production contract. Sadly unless it's a Disney show or a surprise juggernaut hit (ala Hamilton) it's more and more likely a show will go out SETA these days, thanks crash and recession. Sadly that still plays into this even a decade later. Most Union tours are SETA lately, I think the only full production contract tours right now are wicked, Hamilton, Aladdin, Lion King, Beautiful, and POTO but I might be wrong.  Now...LND could have gone out as some tier of Full production if it tried, but considering it wasn't a hit anywhere it played, I can see why it went out SETA. Even Waitress I feel could have gone out as the lowest tier of production contract, but didn't, same with Les Mis. Now that I can't believe went SETA this year. Jersey Boys just went SETA, but it's been touring as full production for almost 10 years so that's to be expected. 

Updated On: 8/10/17 at 10:11 AM

[HennySlay]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 11:44am

I'm naive about this can someone please explain the difference between the different levels of productions. I'd really appreciate it. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/17/17 at 7:31pm

Tonight is the performance of the tour. Anyone going?

[catmandoo]

Posted: 10/18/17 at 11:27am

I have tickets for next Tuesday with my season package. Saw it twice on Broadway, so I'll give a report next week if there's any changes or whatnot and how it is.

[Observation]

Posted: 10/18/17 at 8:35pm

There is audio of Desi's first "She Used to be Mine" on Tumblr.

 

Not bad. 

[ethan231h]

Posted: 10/18/17 at 9:26pm

Observation said: "There is audio of Desi's first "She Used to be Mine" on Tumblr.



Not bad."

I thought her emotion was everything... but the vocals itself was nothing special. I am sure she will grow in the role though so I'm not too worried. Side note...per instagram posts, Desi is wearing a blonde wig..and the playbill (for at least their Cleveland run) is using Betsy on the cover. 

[JennH]

Posted: 10/18/17 at 9:52pm

trpguyy said: "With Networks managing the tour, I wouldn't get my hopes up for many recognizable names in the cast."

I don't know what company is managing it, but it isn't Networks, it would be listed on their site by now and it's not. 

And I assume the audio of her was pulled as there's no link?

Updated On: 10/18/17 at 09:52 PM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/18/17 at 9:56pm

I saw on a Instagram picture that the platform the band sits on isn’t automated and it’s controlled by an arm, is this the case for the Broadway production? I wonder if it’s manually split during bad idea.

[iWannaBEaSedaris]

Posted: 10/19/17 at 9:55am

The platform is automated.

[catmandoo]

Posted: 10/25/17 at 7:27pm

Okay, saw it last night in Cleveland. Overall, I had a very lovely time. So, as for the details...

Somehow they got the fresh baked pie scent in the lobby of the theater. I was tickled by this. Upon entering the theater itself, I noticed a slight change to the stage. The pie coolers that line the sides of the stage were gone, and replaced with sliver panels (Although once the show started, the bottom panels were removed to have some pie coolers)

As for the show itself...

The set was pretty much the Broadway set, automation and all. There may have been a couple things that the cast pushed on and off that didn't happen on Broadway, but I can't say for certain.

Changes-  The only changes I really noticed 1) For some inexplicable reason, Becky and Jenna now sing from the second chorus to the end of  "When He Sees Me" along with Dawn. (Starting at "what if he opens up a door and I can't close it..." It was strange. I'm 84% sure they didn't do this on Broadway... amd 2)  they dropped Earl's f-bomb and changed it to "frickin" in the "You Will Still be Mine" scene. And that's it. Otherwise it was the same show.

Cast- Desi Oakley as Jenna- She was great... her voice was a bit deeper than the previous Jennas that I've seen (Jessie and Sara), but she still held her own. Her "She Used to be Mine" was heartbreakingly beautiful, and her acting was superb.

Charity Angel Dawson as Becky- I've only ever seen her as Becky (Once as an understudy, once as principal on Broadway) and now on the tour. She's great.

Lenne Klingaman as Down- She grew on me as the show went on. That's really all I have to say about her.

Bryan Fenkart as Dr Pomatter- He was super goofy and delightful. I really enjoyed his performence.

Nick Bailey as Earl- Wonderfully slimy. I just wish his singing was a tad better.

Larry Marshall as Joe- Fantastic. He was one of my favorite parts.

Ryan Duncan as Cal- He was fine.

Jeremy Morse as Ogie- truly a standout. He had the audience rolling. Enjoyed him very much

The ensemble was great- Maiesha McQueen as Nurse Norma was particularly enjoyable

So yeah, overall it was really enjoyable. If there are any specifics you'd like to know, go ahead and ask!

[shrekster224]

Posted: 10/26/17 at 1:53am

Thanks for the review, catmandoo! Any chance you could post the understudy list? Hoping Grace Stockdale is covering Jenna...she would be phenomenal.  

[catmandoo]

Posted: 10/26/17 at 10:12am

Yeah, I can do that when I get home from work.

[catmandoo]

Posted: 10/26/17 at 7:28pm

For Jenna- Kyra Kennedy, Emily Koch, Grace Stockdale

For Becky- Arica Jackson, Maiesha McQueen

For Dawn- Kyra Kennedy, Gerianne Perez

for Dr. Pomatter- Skyler Adams, Jim Hogan

For Earl- Patrick Dunn, Jim Hogan

For Joe- David Huhgley, Donterrio Johnson

For Ogie- Jim Hogan

for Cal- Patrick Dunn, David Hughley

 

 

[shrekster224]

Posted: 10/26/17 at 9:12pm

Awesome, thank you!

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/25/17 at 12:52pm

Emily Koch went on as Jenna for the first time last night!

[gleek4114]

Posted: 11/25/17 at 1:16pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Emily Koch went on as Jenna for the first time last night!"

I was just about to write "What I wouldn't give to see Emily Koch as Jenna." Fingers crossed I can catch her between the three cities I plan to see the tour in... multiple times. 

[gleek4114]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 6:12pm

Had my first Waitress tour adventures in the last couple weeks. I ended up seeing it in Cincinatti 3 times. I had hoped by 2/3 of them being matinees I might catch Emily Koch's Jenna, but to my knowledge Desi did all 16 shows over the two week run.

I wasn't super keen on Desi to start, but she definitely grew on me throughout the run. She's giving an emotionally developed performance of "She Used to Be Mine" that is on par with dept Jessie bought to it. Bryan Fenkart was great. His voice gets a little nasal at some points, but he's very funny and checks off every comedic moment. I had previously only seen Keala with the OBC, and was delighted by Charity's performance. "I Didn't Plan It" isn't a super long song, but she manages to rip it to shreds. Lenne Klingaman as Dawn is a pure delight. Great voice and wonderful comedic chops. Nick Bailey as Earl was great, in that he made us hate him. The grittiness of his voice really worked for me. After seeing Fitzgerald I though HE was the thing that made Ogie work, but after seeing Jeremy Morse, I've come to the conclusion that the ROLE is what people love. People just go NUTS for Ogie. Last but not least is Lary Marshall, who was funny and endearing as old Joe, and while Dakin was great, Lary sings his song beautifully.

I won't see the show again until Nashville in June, and I look forward to seeing how the cast and show changes. She could always extend, but I was told by a reliable source that Desi isn't contracted through June, so depending on when she leaves, she could only have a 6 month contract right now.

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 7:26pm

Thank you for your review! I had actually forgotten about this thread, so now I’ll need to earmark it so that I can go back and reread this before seeing “Waitress” on March 11th in Pittsburgh, as well as post a review afterwards. Looking forward to the show!!! 

Updated On: 1/22/18 at 07:26 PM

[stephaniehsueh]

Posted: 1/24/18 at 5:55pm

gleek4114 said: "I won't see the show again until Nashville in June, and I look forward to seeing how the cast and show changes. She could always extend, but I was told by a reliable source that Desi isn't contracted through June, so depending on when she leaves, she could only have a 6 month contract right now."

Desi seems to absolutely love the role so I could definitely see her extending but I see Waitress was just announced for San Diego's 2018-19 season in November 2018 so it is going on for another leg beyond the current one that ends in LA. Perhaps we'll get a new Jenna then. I guess time will tell!

[trpguyy]

Posted: 1/25/18 at 3:13am

JennH said: "trpguyy said: "With Networks managing the tour, I wouldn't get my hopes up for many recognizable names in the cast."

I don't know what company is managing it, but it isn't Networks, itwould be listed on their site by now and it's not.

And I assume the audio of her was pulled as there's no link?"

https://www.ibdb.com/tour-production/waitress--514071

Production Manager:  NETworks Presentations, LLC and  Jason Juenker

[h6p8gv]

Posted: 1/25/18 at 5:36pm

DO they sell pies in the audience like they do on broadway? If so what flavors do they sell

[kyguy78]

Posted: 1/26/18 at 11:17am

Saw it in Cincinnati this past weekend and I have to echo a lot of gleek's comments.  It is a very strong production overall.  I thought Desi's voice was great and "She Used to Be Mine" gave me chills.  The crowd I was with went crazy for Jeremy Morse as Ogie; so much so that he had to get the cue for the button to "Never Getting Rid of Me" a couple of times. We thought about doing the stage door since we enjoyed the show so much, but the area was so packed we decided to head on home.  

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 3/4/18 at 10:56am

Short article in the Pittsburgh paper:

'Waitress' star Desi Oakley dishes on her role and life on the road


http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/theater-dance/2018/03/01/Waitress-the-musical-Desi-Oakley-Benedum-Center/stories/201803040020

Looking forward to seeing this next weekend! 

Updated On: 3/4/18 at 10:56 AM

[iWannaBEaSedaris]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 11:28am

"With Networks managing the tour, I wouldn't get my hopes up for many recognizable names in the cast."

I don't know what company is managing it, but it isn't Networks, itwould be listed on their site by now and it's not."

https://www.ibdb.com/tour-production/waitress--514071

Production Manager:NETworks Presentations, LLCandJason Juenker"

NETworks was engaged strictly to hire the crew for the production, as NAMCO, the tour’s management company has very little expertise and experience successfully running tours. NETworks was essentially a contractor. NAMCO’s management style continuously pushes rules to their boundaries if not breaks them all together. Employees of Waitress on Tour as well as the low tier Equity tour of Chicago are apparently growing very tired of Alicia Parker’s disrespect for general decency, as well as the Weissler/Herrick mismanagement of funds and their productions according to closed Facebook Actors Equity Groups.

[h6p8gv]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 2:41pm

DO they sell the pies on the tour like they do on broadway?