Order Up! Waitress on Stage at Erie Playhouse

Contributed

Shawna Daisley (left, playing Dawn) baked both a chocolate and a mermaid pie for Ryan Dawley (playing Ogie) in the upcoming Erie Playhouse production of the Tony Award-nominated showstopper Waitress.

BEGINNING FRIDAY, JAN. 24

In 2007 a beautiful little film called Waitress debuted in theaters, about a woman who bakes her feelings at a small-town diner, while trapped in an abusive marriage. Eight years later singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles debuted a show of her own on a Harvard stage, a musical based on this tender, funny movie, which quickly made it to Broadway later that year. A decade later it's coming to the NWPA community as the Erie Playhouse makes it its own.

The Playhouse is kicking off the new year with a multi-Tony Award-nominated showstopper, with its many moving parts under the direction of Trish Yates. "This show beautifully parallels the baking of a pie — ingredients that are unexpected, crafted, mixed together, and then baked to reveal a delicious dessert: a sweet and tangy ending," said Yates. She continued, "Ordinary lives each have extraordinary purpose."

Starring Rebecca Keim, who is making her mainstage debut as Jenna, Kyle Filbeck as Dr. Pomatter, Lizdel Collado-Monahan as Becky, and Shawna Daisley as Dawn, there will also be a little Easter egg for those in the know in the Erie music scene: "Jenna…reflects on her memories of her mother throughout the show…What makes this so poignant is the actors who play the roles are mother and daughter in real life. Becca Keim and her mother Julie Moore have some beautiful unspoken moments on stage," Yates said.

"The show is witty, fast paced, toe-tapping, and is one of the most intricate staged shows I have ever directed," Yates continued. "Each part moves seamlessly as the ensemble flows from one scene to the next." Besides the complexity of the staging, however, Waitress reveals the complexity of burgeoning motherhood and enduring friendships, and the transformative power of having someone believe in you — as well as having something to fight for. 

Weekends, Jan. 24 through Feb. 9 // Friday and Saturdays shows at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. // Erie Playhouse, 13 W. 10th St. // $19.40 to $30.40 // For tickets and info: erieplayhouse.org