SNEAK PEEK: Waitress Cast Performs ‘Opening Up’, ‘It Only Takes a Taste’, and more!
The cast and creative team of Atlantis Theatrical’s Waitress gave the press a sneak peek of the production during their rehearsals yesterday.
Featuring the music and lyrics of Sara Bareilles, Waitress tells the story of pie maker Jenna who, despite the mundanity of her life, finds comfort and reckoning in the simple magic of baking. With the help of her two friends Dawn and Becky, she dreams of a way out of her loveless marriage and musters the courage to change her life for the better.
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The cast, featuring Joanna Ampil as Jenna Hunterson, Bituin Escalante as Becky, Maronne Cruz as Dawn, and Bibo Reyes as Dr. Pomatter, and Nino Alejandro as Ogie, performed three songs from the musical– ‘Opening Up’, ‘It Only Takes a Taste’, and ‘Never Ever Getting Rid of Me.’
Bareilles, in her album entitled ‘What’s Inside: Songs from Waitress- Commentary’, gives a brief background for ‘Opening Up’ and ‘Never Ever Getting Rid of Me.’ She shares,
“Opening Up is our opening number for the show. This is setting the tone for getting to know all of the characters of the show. We meet our three waitresses and I wanted it to be a really vibrant, energetic, exciting song that just sounded like a Sara Bareilles song but also was just setting the scene for being inside Joe’s Pie Diner, which is where we spend a lot of our time for our show.”
“Never Ever Getting Rid of Me is a love song from a character named Ogie, who is a charming, odd, unusual love interest for one of Jenna’s sidekick characters. The waitress Dawn ends up falling in love with Ogie, and he’s an unlikely hero but he has such a sweet heart and ends up really winning her over with his purity.”
Other members of the cast include Steven Conde as pie diner owner Joe, George Schulze as Jenna’s abusive husband Earl, and Dean Rosen as chef Cal.
Completing the cast of Waitress are Sarah Facuri, Emeline Celis Guinid, Jillian Ita-as, Gerhard Krysstopher, Luis Marcelo, Luigi Quesada, and Teetin Villanueva.
The show is directed by Bobby Garcia. Members of the creative team also include Farley Asuncion (musical direction), David Gallo (set design), Cecile Martinez (choreography), Raven Ong (costume design), Aaron Porter (lighting design), Josh Millican (sound design), Manman Angsico (vocal coaching), and Johann dela Fuente (hair and make-up design).
You can find excerpts from the performances in the video below.
The show will run from November 9 to December 2 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium of RCBC Plaza.
You can buy tickets HERE.
