Inspired by Adrienne Shelly’s beloved film and brought to life by a trailblazing female-led creative team, including a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson, an original, uplifting score by Grammy winner Sara Bareilles and direction by Tony winner Diane Paulus, Waitress is the irresistible Broadway hit about resilience, friendship and hope that has captured hearts worldwide.
Here is part three of the group interviews from the Waitress: The Musical media call with Mackenzie Dunn, Gabriyel Thomas and John Waters.
Gabriyel Thomas and Mackenzie Dunn on their favourite flavour of pie:
Gabriyel: “I love pecan pie.”
Mackenzie: “I’ve actually never had that. I’m gonna say like an apple crumble pie. Ooh delicious.”
Gabriyel and Mackenzie on their characters:
Mackenzie: “I’m playing Dawn, and I would describe her as a turtle – I’m wearing my little turtle earrings – she likes the comforts of her own home. She doesn’t like being out of control. She likes everything particular. But she’s super quirky, I think she’s really funny, and the thing I love about her the most is that she’s unapologetically who she is. And I really enjoy getting to embody that every night.”
Gabriyel: “That was very close to the answer I was gonna have, but I’ll switch it up. I play Becky. She’s bold [and] not afraid to be herself. I think that’s the one of the fun things about all of these women, they are themselves. She says what she wants, does what she wants, and she’s very confident in herself.”
Gabriyel and Mackenzie on what they love about Waitress:
Mackenzie: “This show has so much heart. I mean, all of music theatre is filled with heart. But I think this show has something special in its kind of like ordinariness. There’s something really beautiful about the fact that it’s just a human story about humans. So it’s really nice to just be people at a diner, [with[ everyday things and everyday problems that occur. And I mean, something that’s really beautiful about this show is, like the friendship between like the three waitresses.”
Gabriyel: “I really think the connection is so unique with this show. Obviously, in any show, you’re connecting with your scene partner, but this one, I feel like it feels like we’re a real community of people who are at this diner every day, we work with the same people every day, we have our own back stories with every person that comes into the diner. So it’s just really unique in that way. There’s no spectacle of the show, but it’s the heart that really draws people in.”
Gabriyel and Mackenzie on the music in Waitress:
Gabriyel: “I think Sara Bareilles is a genius in the way that she makes music. And I think even just in the orchestration of everyone’s song, it really dials into who the character is. Like I’m thinking of When He Sees Me, it’s very choppy. It’s very how i would imagine Dawn’s brain is. And I Didn’t Plan It, it’s very full and in her body, and it’s very soulful as well. [Sara] does such a good job at making sure you know who this song belongs to.”
Mackenzie: “And lyrically, as an actor, it’s so easy to just perform her songs, because her lyrics are so brilliant. She does all the hard work for you. So, yeah, she’s a genius.”
Gabriyel and Mackenzie on the hardest part about being in Waitress:
Mackenzie: “I think for me, the hardest is Opening Up, it’s like, on, bang, bang, bang, bang, really fast and quick. I think as an actor dropping into that and full guns blazing at the beginning of the show is the hardest thing. And once we’re on the train, we’re on the train, and it’s just gonna keep chewing away. But yeah, just like coming in full guns blazing is, for me, the hardest part.”
Gabriyel: “Yeah, that is definitely a hard part. I think for me it’s kind of the same, but with act two, because my song is the beginning of Act Two. And normally Act Two of a show, it’s with a bigger number [that] brings the audience back in, but coming off of coming off the stage, being in your dressing room, and then to be ready to get back in that moment is difficult. It’s a challenge and fun.”
Gabriyel and Mackenzie on if they get hungry being surrounded by pies:
Gabriyel: “The smell of the pies, I don’t know if you can smell it [in the theatre as you walk in], but I feel like that really triggers my appetite. It makes you want to literally eat pie, which I guess is the whole point”
Mackenzie: “It’s giving me a sweet” [laughs].
John Waters: “I get to eat the pie. I get to sit [on stage] for 10 minutes eating pie, if you can tell [sticks out his belly].”
John Waters on his favourite flavour of pie:
“Well, I do describe the Jenna’s Devil’s Food Oasis pie as being comprised of chocolate and strawberry, I’ve yet to actually eat one of those, but I do eat a very nice cherry pie on stage.”
John on his character Joe:
“Looking at a role on a page, when you first read a script, you have to not form opinions too strongly too early. So you get familiars. In the case of Joe, [it’s] the story of a man who loves his local community, and he’s made himself a bit of a small time entrepreneur. It’s a small town, but he owns four businesses in the town, and he stopped there. He hasn’t gone on to want to be a captain of industry in any way. He’s doing this because he loves to feel like a part of the community. And I think that’s why, when he presents himself as a rather grumpy, maybe slightly difficult sort of person that’s not really a reflection of the true Joe. So the written page is able to be interpreted differently according to the situation that this man finds himself in. And it’s lovely to find a journey with a character. I love rehearsing a show because it’s the creative part of the work. And I find out about Joe from the reactions of the actors that I’m working with. And I think that’s a real joy. You just sort of peel away any preconceptions and see how Joe interacts with everyone.”
John on being back on stage, after his extensive career in stage, film and television:
“It’s home for me, really. When I step out on a stage, I know that I have a responsibility to deliver something, that’s an exciting thing for me. And I always walk out on stage and feel like this space is mine for the next two hours and the rest of the cast, of course, but I feel personally about it. And so in a production as good as this one, it’s really nice to be back as Joe.”
John on if he based his character on anyone:
“I know Joe types. In Australian country towns, you’ll find the equivalence of Joe. You’ll find somebody who’s a quiet achiever, somebody who is working hard to keep the heart and soul of a local community going, even though they might seem to be very demanding. We’re in rural, Midwestern town, and he’s just somebody who wants to make sure everything runs okay.”
John on his show number Take It From An Old Man:
“The song I sing, that’s the one I have to most concentrate on I suppose [laughs]. I think the music is fantastic. Sara Bareilles has put together a lot of songs that drive the story, as well as being great songs, and I sit back and listen to some magnificent singing from the rest of this cast [as well].
There are times when I’m actually on stage but not participating in that moment of the play. But everything happens simultaneously in this show, and I thought when I read through that I would have a fair bit of time off stage, but I don’t really, because I’m changing and then standing by for the next thing. It’s a predominantly young cast, and it’s a great honour for me to be the senior member, chronologically speaking of this cast, and it’s wonderful, very nice at any age to have youth around.”
John on the accent he and the cast use in Waitress:
“The language of this show is basically Midwestern, which is a whole culture that we’re very used to seeing in movies, etc. And the dialect that we use is really accurately represented by everybody here, and it’s beautiful to know that this story relates to every single human situation because the main thrust of a story is surviving all the things that life can throw at you which are tough to get through. There are various issues that crop up in this show, which you don’t quite expect. It’s a beautiful looking show. It has a wonderful comedic storyline as well, with a couple of the characters, but it’s got something to say as well about surviving trauma.”
Joe on his relationship with Jenna (as played by Natalie Bassingthwaighte):
“I have a feeling that they go back quite a long way, because she has a checked past in the town. She’s had some tragedy in her life, and I feel that Joe looks after her in a particular way. He does care about all his staff, and he’s employed people he wants to help. I think Cal (played by John Xintavelonis) is another example of somebody who might have been a kid in a loose end years ago. With Jenna, he knows that she’s probably potentially very fragile because of what’s happened to her and I would imagine that behind the scenes, Joe has quietly provided for her, maybe paid for a bit of schooling, or this, that and the other, without making a big deal, doing it through an intermediary, just making it happen. And we see that gradually unfold in some capacity, like a father figure.”
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Waitress the Musical is playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne until July 9, then playing at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre from August 1st.
Read our review here.
Tickets and more information via waitressthemusical.com.au
Photos supplied/ by Jeff Bubsy
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