“Sugar, butter, flour,” is the layered refrain that wafts through Waitress: The Musical and sticks to you in the best way. Now a filmed adaptation of the Tony-nominated musical with music and lyrics from Grammy-winner Sara Bareilles is out in movie theaters. Like the 2007 Adrienne Shelley film the musical is based on, Waitress: The Musical weaves some weighted themes into the story of Jenna (Bareilles), a diner waitress with a knack for soothing souls with her unique and delicious pies who longs to break free from her emotionally abusive husband, Earl (Joe Tippett).
Though the central love story unfolds between Jenna, who is pregnant, and her obstetrician, Dr. Pomatter (Drew Gehling), who’s new to their small town, the story also elevates women's friendships. Jenna and her coworkers Becky (Charity Angél Dawson) and Dawn (Caitlin Houlahan) support one another through celebrations and strife — and song. Bareilles says that’s also a love story critical to Waitress.
Sara Bareilles as Jenna in Waitress: The MusicalCourtesy Bleecker Street
“I think it’s beautiful to see…the great love stories be inclusive of friendships. When I really think about who my soulmates are in this life, certainly it is my partner, you know, my future husband, Joe Tippett, but also, my incredible friends, soulmates, sisters who have been through thick and thin and everything in between. And I love seeing that depicted on stage,” Bareilles tells the Advocate Channel.
“I really attribute so much of this to Adrienne Shelley who conceived of the world of Waitress and made this beautiful film that we are adapting for the stage,” she adds. “It was so radical at the time for her to have a female character that, in the end, chose herself and her friends, and to create community, and did not go run off with the doctor and have the romantic ending. …To remember that there is great, deep love to be shared amongst friends. I love telling that story again and again.”
It's been eight years since Waitress premiered on Broadway, and Bareilles’s songs have become a part of the American songbook. Jenna’s moment of choosing herself over her marriage to Earl occurs during the emotionally resonant “She Used to Be Mine,” a song that’s reached audiences far beyond musical theater devotees. But the music in Waitress can’t be extricated from the food. It’s in the refrain, “Sugar, butter, flour,” like a salve or a call to come home.
“I talked about this show as being like the ultimate comfort food to me. I think of comfort food as it just has a warmth around it. It’s touching all the senses in all the right ways. …Food and music are universal languages. You don’t have to speak the same words to have an emotional response to an incredible bite of food or a beautiful piece of music,” Bareilles says. “It’s one of the wonderful ways that we can continue to connect and bridge divides between us. I think food and music are both food for the soul. I think of this show as being a really wonderful kind of recipe for that. It’s funny, it’s poignant. It’s got a nice balance of darkness and light.”
“And I might be biased, but I really like the music,” Bareilles says with a laugh.
Watch the full interview below.
Sara Bareilles as Jenna in Waitress: The MusicalCourtesy Bleecker Street
