Waitress at Alhambra Theatre Bradford Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Jenny Bray
As theatre musicals go, this one is a newbie at only 10 years old. This current tour is celebrating its 10 year anniversary, although it is based on the 2007 film by Adrienne Shelley.
The story largely centres around waitress Jenna (Carrie Hope Fletcher), who is an excellent pie maker and loves to experiment and make a different pie of the day, and her waitress friends Becky (Sandra Marvin) and Dawn (Evelyn Hoskins) who work at Joe’s Pie Diner. Joe is played by Les Dennis. Jenna gets pregnant unexpectedly with her abusive, childhood sweetheart of a husband, Earl (Mark Willshire) but wants more out of life and meets Doctor Pomatter (Dan Partridge) when going for antenatal check ups.
I particularly enjoyed the sideline plot around Dawn, the shy and naive one who has non-mainstream hobbies, wanting to find a partner. This is especially true once Ogie (David Mairs-McKenzie) shows up, with the way the two of them interact in a somewhat geeky but very endearing way.
Jenna loves to create different pies and there is a pie special every day, often titled around how she is feeling! Watch out for the names being mentioned and also for them when they are chalked up on the specials board. Some of the concoctions sounded delicious, slightly unconventional, but appealing none the less!
Some of the scenes get a little sexual, as there are portrayals of affairs and new partners coming together. However, the bit that intrigued me with these was as to why other cast came out and rhythmically clapped in the background during these times, as it distracted from what was actually going on in the foreground. Due to the amount of swearing and having some sexualised content I’d probably not recommend this show for younger children, with the age guidance being 13+ for good reason.
There are lots of catchy songs throughout the show, which range from being quite poppy to having more of a country style to them, with Carrie Hope Fletcher’s voice being the stand out one for me. This is especially evident in ‘She Used To Be Mine’ but I also enjoyed others, including ‘What Baking Can Do’, ‘Bad Idea’ and ‘A Soft Place To Land’. The band are integrated into the stage, at the rear on the right. This makes the diner look bustling when only a few of the characters on stage, which works really well. My earworm post show was, ‘Sugar… butter… flour…’.
The stage setting frequently changed to go with the scene. The diner was busy, with tables, chairs, a cooking port and pie storage. It then moved between various other settings, including the doctor’s surgery and Jenna and Earl’s slightly drab house. I loved that the curtain beyond the fire curtain was a pie lattice with red filling between, both at the start and during the interval.
At the very start of the show there was a song that came through before anything else started. It took me a little while to work out that it was about ensuring your phone is off so it doesn’t interrupt the show as it was very in keeping with the style of the show.
Costumes are fairly bright and in keeping with it being modern, at least for the girls. The boys are a little less bright, although Les Dennis gets to wear a full white suit at one point!
Bradford Alhambra theatre is slightly on the outskirts of Bradford, near to the National Science and Media Museum which has parking by it.
This is a light hearted musical, with plenty of singing and dancing. It showcases the strong bond some female friends can have. I’d class it as a bit of a chick flick on stage, which isn’t really that surprising as it’s that kind of film that’s been converted to the stage. I love a feel good musical, where you can just switch off from any daytime thoughts and get immersed in a fun story on stage and this delivers that, in a very sweet way, in more ways than one…
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost from £15 to £58
The Waitress is on at the Bradford Alhambra between 13th and 18th April 2026.
For more information or to book tickets visit;
https://www.bradford-theatres.co.uk/whats-on/waitress
or call the Box Office on 01274 432000
Bradford Alhambra Theatre, Morley Street, Bradford, BD7 1AJ