by Terrance Mc Arthur

An unplanned pregnancy. An abusive husband. Multiple affairs—and pies. That’s entertainment? It sure is!

Waitress, the 2016 musical based on the 2007 Keri Russell film of the same name, is being served at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater in a Good Company Players production through May 18. Treat yourself!

In the Deep South, not that long ago, Jenna Hunterson (Meg Clark), waitress and pie baker at Joe’s Pie Diner, finds out she’s pregnant after a drunken night with her ne’er-do-well abusive husband, Earl (Benjamin Geddert). She doesn’t want the child, but she won’t have an abortion. Joe (Patrick Allan Tromborg), the crusty/demanding/lovable owner of the diner, suggests she enter a pie baking contest, win $20,000, and leave Earl. Jenna’s regular OB/GYN doctor has left, replaced by Dr. Jim Pommater (Jonathan Wheeler). They are both married, she is pregnant, but they start an affair.

Will Jenna keep the baby? Will she enter/win the pie contest? Will she leave Earl? Will she kill Earl? If you’ve seen the original movie (or the 2023 filming of the stage musical, you might know.

Clark, fresh from her second triumphant run as Carol King in GCP’s Beautiful, gives Jenna warmth, grit, and love. The interspersed recipes of her fanciful pies ( like the A Big Ol’ Slice of Live Your Life Pie) make sense, because she believes . . . and the audience does, too. Her voice has soared through lead roles in other shows like Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Daddy Long Legs, and it does not falter.

Wheeler, as the doctor, doesn’t get as much acting room as he did when playing Gerry Goffin in Beautiful, but he’s able to stay stable and funny with Clark in the memorably gymnastic affair-prelude “Bad Idea.”

Janet Glaude and Kaitlyn Wheeler make the most of being Jenna’s waitress sidekicks. Glaude, the Iron Lady of GCP with more than 40 productions under her belt, as Becky, has a fine edge to the sarcastic character, and sticks the irony in the confessional “I Didn’t Plan It.” Wheeler puts a gee-whiz quality into Dawn’s discovery of love with the nerdish Ogie (Michael Fidalgo), a couple that brings more of the don’t-bring-the-kids-quality to the show.

Tromborg brings Joe to life with all his contradictions—contrary, wise, demanding, generous—and if his song, “Take It From an Old Man” doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, you don’t have any of them left. Geddert departs from his career of good-guy roles to bring Earl to get-a-restraining-order level, a low-life who would tattoo his own name on his chest. Brian Rhea is still a towering talent as the grumpy cook-manager, always demanding more work from the staff. Jackie Broach draws the humor out of the doctor’s Nurse, Norma.

Elizabeth Feister’s direction puts her signature magic on the stage. Malinda Asbury (with assistance from Kailyn Sanders) puts smooth and unique choreography on the stage; The Club Knocked Up Trio of Haleigh Cook, Caitlin Sawatsky, and Hannah Wehner have a “Contraction Ballet” that turns labor pains into art). Vocal coach Terry Lewis leads the cast into fine-tuning the songs by singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, creating sonic waves that fill the building. Ginger Kay Lewis-Reed creates characters with cloth and her costume designs. David Pierce’s sets move all over the place, and manage to land where they are supposed to, with the help of the cast.

Waitress is a musical that touches on heavy issues, but always with a gentle touch. This production is solid, with touches of the amazing. Come be amazed.

The Junior Company pre-show takes the musical’s title, cuts it down to “Wait,” and assembles a collection of songs related to Time—Rock ‘n’Roll from Bill Hill Haley & His Comets to Buddy Holly & the Crickets, musicals like Nunsense and The Rocky Horror Show, along with a candy jingle, and Campbell Sloas doing a charming rendition of an old Fanny Brice/Barbra Streisand song.

This show is more than a slice of pie. It’s a slice of life–good, bad, and wonderful!

Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater is at 1226 N. Wishon Ave. at Olive Ave. For tickets and further information, go to gcplayers.com, or call (559) 266-9494.

Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater is at 1226 N. Wishon Ave. at Olive Ave. For tickets and further information, go to gcplayers.com, or call (559) 266-9494.

If you love local theatre, be sure to check out Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, which features mysteries read by local actors. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and also on podbean.

Check out more theatre reviews & other local entertainment articles in our Arts & Entertainment section. You can also find more theatre coming up on KRL’s Local Theatre event page.

Terrance V. Mc Arthur worked for the Fresno County Public Library for three decades. He is retired, but not retiring. A storyteller, puppeteer, writer, actor, magician, basketmaker, and all-around interesting person, his goal is to make life more unusual for everyone he meets.