Musical: Waitress

Tonight, I finally went to see Waitress, which I had to cancel earlier in the year. It's at the Adelphi. And lo, Google Maps said I could walk there from the office in under half an hour - so I did, just arriving in nice time. I could have done without the usher outside the theatre, mind, who confused absolutely everyone by saying that people with tickets should join the queue to his right, while those collecting should join the queue to his left. Now, given that both queues were beside each other, to his left.. well. More informative would have been to say to join the queue by the wall if you were collecting, as that's where the ticket booths had been conveniently plonked. (I think he meant to say the queue to the left as he looked at them..)

Well, bags were duly checked and I was in, and had lots of stairs to climb. Last week's cold still hasn't completely cleared my chest, and all the climbing did aggravate it a bit - happily, the show is loud enough that I managed a few discreet coughs without causing too much of a disturbance. And yes, I was right at the top of the house - I'd noticed that a few seats in the very back row have the advantage of being right at the top of a flight of stairs. So there's literally no-one in front of you (for a long way down, at any rate), and nothing to impede your legroom. Bliss - as long as you don't suffer from vertigo! Best cheap tickets in the house.

There's a character in this - a doctor - who's been off sugar for ages. So when he's offered a pie, he demurs - oh no, it'd be too sweet. But gee, when prevailed upon to take a piece - all of a sudden, he just cannot get enough. As the lead character, who gives him the pie, says - "Life is hard enough". And that pretty much summarises what happened to me at this show. I was a bit dubious to begin with - the story concerns a waitress in a diner, who bakes the most amazing pies, apparently. And gee, every five minutes there's a baking reference, and as a non-baker myself, I wasn't really looking forward to what was coming. Seemed like it was going to be sickly sweet.

Well, more fool me. Because it's just marvellous.. the story is very sweet, without being sickeningly so, the music is catchy, the singing tremendous. Speaking of which, the guy beside me - who also had one of those seats with no-one in front - was obviously a major fan, had obviously been before; he spent the interval softly singing the main chorus to himself (in a fine voice), and the whooping and cheering that came from him was like what you'd get at a rock concert. Mind you, he wasn't alone - almost every song got a round of applause, and we were all up in a standing ovation at the end.

It's a simple-enough story of female empowerment - she discovers, at the beginning, that she's pregnant. To her good-for-nothing husband, who takes all her money, tries to control whom she sees and where she goes, and is borderline violent. Oh, and shortly gets himself fired. Now, in many parts of the world, the first thing she'd be advised to do would be to take herself down the abortion clinic: but of course, then there'd be no story. No, she decides to keep the baby - but she realises she can't go on as before. So wait and see what she does next..

It's sweet, it's funny, it's damn catchy. And we come to know and love all the main characters - well, except the good-for-nothing waste of space she's married to. Absolutely terrific night out - absolutely recommended. Currently booking till the 4th of January. I am so glad I made it in the end. Oh, and I was far enough away to get the bus home - incidentally, I do think it's rather mean to have the #11 to Liverpool Street terminate where it does. I mean, when you get off, the station is nowhere in sight - it's over a 5-minute walk away, zig-zagging through streets that, if you're not familiar with the area, can be utterly confusing. Happy were the people getting off with me, to be able to get directions there from me.. ("yes, you go straight up there, and hang a left where you see that bus just going now..").

Tomorrow, some comedy, with Shappi Khorsandi, at Soho Theatre.

On Wednesday, back with Civilised London (CL) for a Lebanese meal at Al Waha, meeting beforehand at the Prince Alfred. My only Meetup of the week! Then I'm back to Ireland for a long weekend.

Next Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) - again, it'll have been nearly three weeks since I was last with them! The occasion is a production of Giselle, by the English National Ballet, at Sadler's Wells.

On the 24th, back with North London Friends, to Donmar Warehouse, for Appropriate.

On the 25th, the Crick Crack Club is back! Tricksters & Fools is at Rich Mix - it's another in Crick Crack's Archetypes series, and stars Sarah Liisa Wilkinson (hello again!), Tim Ralphs, TUUP, and Nell Phoenix.

On the 26th, UITCS is back with Groan Ups, at the Vaudeville.

On the 27th, Love London Theatre, Arts, Music & Stuff is at Our Lady of Kibeho, at the Theatre Royal Stratford. Ahah, I knew I'd booked something else with them!

And on the 28th, I booked for the matinee of Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp. at the Royal Court. And then CL organised an outing to see London Concertante perform the Four Seasons at Southwark Cathedral. What the hey, I figure I can make both! It's ages since I heard it, in fact.. and it'll be a nostalgic trip for me, as my very first Meetup with the Man with the Hat was to listen to Concertante in Southwark Cathedral. He's much missed.