Waitress At The New Theatre Oxford Review
TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW.
Reviewed by Joanna Woodburn
Performance time, once again, at the superb New Theatre Oxford with the award-winning, renowned musical Waitress! This fantastic show is now ‘serving good ol’ pie’ to audiences across the UK!
The New Theatre Oxford is a super venue for an evening of entertainment. Situated right in the centre of this historic university city, The New Theatre has a spacious auditorium, with comfortable seating and ample leg room and is completely access friendly. We found all the staff to be friendly and welcoming and we were very well looked after from start to finish.
By way of introduction to Waitress, the audience meets Jenna, more than just a waitress in a southern US diner – an exceptional pie-maker! How do you like your pie? Sugar! Sugar! Look out for the ‘Pie Special’ board in the authentic setting of Joe’s Diner, where much of the musical is performed. Jenna craves true happiness in her life – enter stage right a new, sensitive and rather nervous doctor in town! Life becomes super tricky, but with support from her work colleagues, Dawn and Becky, who also have troubles of their own, she is able to find true happiness after all.
The musical Waitress includes many funny, laugh out loud moments – in one scene even The Waitress Band, who were positioned at the back of the stage and were exceptional were laughing! The witty and fast paced script, colourful sets, and dynamic musical score added considerably to the high quality of theatrics on stage. So, just as Waitress says the recipe for real happiness is laughter, love and friendship – considering all that the world has been through of late – this could be a good recipe for all of us!
The extremely talented cast served up a piece of Waitress pie full of energy and commitment and play their charming and likeable roles to perfection! From the start, the quite exceptional Chelsea Halfpenny delivered an unforgettable performance in her lead role as Jenna. Her beautiful, mesmerising voice must be heard! Miss Halfpenny is ably supported by the highly experienced Matt Jay-Willis who plays the quirky but likeable Dr. Pomatter with confidence and charisma. Scarlet Gabriel in her role as Becky and Charlie Martin playing Dawn both deliver very funny, sassy and commendable performances.
With simple ingredients of love and hope, along with a generous sprinkling of sugar, Waitress is a show with a big heart and will strike an affectionate chord with all. The musical is a delicious, sweet and light hearted slice of pie which should not be missed! The standing ovation at the end was well deserved, huge congratulations to all the cast and crew! Just one word of warning, it will be sure to make your mouth water so make sure you eat before you go!
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £19.50 plus transaction fee of £3.65
Waitress is at New Theatre, Oxford from Tues 26 April – Sat 30 April 2022, for more information or to book tickets visit https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/waitress/new-theatre-oxford/ or call 0333 009 6690
24-26 George St, Oxford OX1 2AG