Waitress
May 17, 2018
The National Theatre | Washington, DC
She sings of contradictions
Of not knowing her heart
Of being a mess
But being kind
Of being hard on herself.
But it’s the unexpected emotions
The mixing and the creating
That helps to bring out
A yearning for a semblance of freedom
Of control
A sentiment that we can all recognize
When feeling overwhelmed
At a loss
Of dreaming without knowing the
Path on which to walk
It’s a story of family
But also of breaking chains
Of finding something to live for
Beyond even yourself.
And when she sings
You see that we really all walk
The road we are given
Not the one we expect
Where life
Takes us where we need to be.
~~~~
Some Words
I was drawn to the film version of Waitress, because of the stars Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion, but loved how emotion played a role as an intangible ingredient that goes into cooking and baking. When the concept album for the musical came out it was with an added delight – the composer was the amazing Sara Bareillis. While I generally appreciate the music in the stage show, it is the big solo number in Act Two of the stage musical that really found a chokehold on my heart. For me, You Used to be Mine is a ballad about change. And while very specific about a certain life that was lived it really speaks to how, looking back, we aren’t quite what we expected to be. Including the sadness that comes with that realization. Seeing it performed live at the National Theatre was an unexpected pleasure – and I’ll readily admit, came with some unexpected tearing up. While I’m not familiar with Adrienne Shelley’s, the author of the original Waitress, entire body of work (Shelley, sadly, was murdered before the film came out) I am appreciative of her words and the message she wanted to tell about the gifts life has to offer.
...this is what comes next 