This year is the first year that I bought season tickets for “Broadway Across America” tours here in Pittsburgh – basically, I get to see all of the musicals that tour through Pittsburgh. I have gone to the shows for years, but have never bought a subscription before… but when I heard that Hamilton was coming in the 2018-2019 season, I knew that I had to get ahead of the game and get my subscription the year before to ensure good seats for Hamilton. (I know… it sounds crazy. I prefer to call it dedicated!)

I’ve seen some amazing shows this year, but one of the ones I was most excited to see was Waitress. The musical is actually based off of the movie (that I love) with the same name starring Keri Russell, so I already knew the basic plot. It translates really well into a musical, and I love that they kept so many of the movie elements – like the main character, Jenna, daydreaming and inventing new types of pies in her head. I actually re-watched the movie after seeing the show because I was feeling so nostalgic, and some of the lines in the musical are word-for-word from the movie. That makes me so happy – I’m always that annoying person at the movie theater complaining how the movie was different than the book, so I was glad I didn’t have any of those complaints.

The music and lyrics for Waitress were actually written by Sara Bareilles, and she actually just finished her second run on Broadway in the lead role! You can really “hear” her in the songs (metaphorically as well as literally – she sings some pre-recorded backup vocals in some songs). The songs are so catchy, and they’ve been running through my head ever since the show ended. This weekend was the show’s last in Pittsburgh, but if you get the chance to see it on Broadway or in another city, you should definitely check it out. If nothing else, give the soundtrack a listen, and let me know what you think!