On Friday 12th November 2021 (mine and B's 3 year anniversary!), we went to Manchester Opera House to watch Waitress the Musical. I'd wanted to watch Waitress for a while - it's been on my 'to watch' list for ages! - so B surprised me with tickets for our anniversary.
It's one of only a few musicals that I've seen where I haven't known anything about the storyline before going. Usually when we go and see a show, I know the plot and/or I've listened to the full soundtrack on repeat. For Waitress, I knew it was about a waitress (obvs!) and something to do with pie? I knew a few songs ('You Matter To Me', 'She Used To Be Mine'. and 'Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me') but I essentially went in blind!
The story revolves around Jenna (played by the incredible Lucie Jones), a waitress and expert pie baker who is trapped in an abusive marriage and dreaming of a new life. She ends up falling in love with her new doctor (Matt Willis from Busted!) and, with her best friends Becky and Dawn (Sandra Marvin and Evelyn Hoskins), creates a new recipe for happiness.
As someone who used to be obsessed with Busted as a child (think fangirl level!), it was so lovely to see Matt Willis in a different light. I loved his awkward portrayal of Dr Pomatter, and the song 'Bad Idea' is one that I've had on repeat since seeing the show. Lucie Jones' voice is amazing and effortlessly beautiful, and she truly captivated the audience and made them fall in love with her character.
The storyline was a lot darker than I expected (and with a lot more swearing than you usually hear in a theatre!), but it was told in such a beautiful, creative way and I left feeling like every character in the story got what they deserved in the end. Not gonna lie, I was kinda disappointed with the ending (no spoilers!), but I feel like it as the most realistic outcome and shows that real life isn't always the fairytale happy ending.
The musical is based on the 2007 film 'Waitress' and the score was written by Sara Bareilles (who I think most people know from Love Song and Brave). The show is currently touring until August 2022. If you're looking for a new musical to watch, you won't be disappointed with Waitress!