The Waitress in Scotland, PA
I’ve never liked change, and I’ve never liked seeing shows end, especially ones I’ve enjoyed, or ones I’ve only gotten to see once and falling in love with it. When it comes to these two now closed shows, I fell in love with both of them and I won’t lie, I cried as I stood for bows, at both of these shows on December 8, 2019.
Have you ever been at a show that you had no idea what you were getting into and then you fall in love with it? Well, I did, when I went to see Scotland, PA back in September for the first time. All I knew about it was that it was the story of Macbeth set in the mid-1970s in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania, in a fast-food restaurant. Let’s just say, though I’d read Macbeth back in high school, it had been some time, so I definitely was lost for the first half an hour or so, as I’d completely forgotten what the story of Macbeth was about at first, but when I started to understand what was happening and finally caught up to the classic story, I fell in love with Ryan McCartan and Taylor Iman Jones and the rest of the cast (like Wonu Ogunforora, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Will Meyers, Megan Lawrence and more). The story the cast, let by Ryan and Taylor tell of a love so great that both husband, Mac (Ryan McCartan) and wife, Pat (Taylor Iman Jones) followed each other blindly even into the crazy ideas of each other (and I don’t mean Mac’s plan of a drive-through window). I mean Pat’s initial idea of robbing their boss to get them the back money they deserved, and how they ended up accidentally killing their boss by basically frying him in the new fryer, and then to cover up their initial crimes, doing a similar thing to Mac’s best friend Banko who somehow knows that they had something to do with the death of their boss. Mac takes Banko on a hunt, and though he doesn’t like the idea, which was Pat’s because the knowledge that Banko has on them would get them in trouble, Mac shoots him. The guilt that both Pat and Mac feel for both of these deaths drive them basically to insanity, starting with Mac’s acting literally crazy and nearly telling the whole world what happened, right in front of the news cameras as they announce their desire to franchise MacBeth’s.
In Shakespeare’s original story of Macbeth, the three witches tell Macbeth and Banquo prophesies, and in Scotland, PA the version of the three witches also tell Mac his prophesies, though they come to him as voices in his mind. The voices both help him and harm him at the same time. All in all though, my second time to Scotland, PA, was better than the first, as I understood what was going on right from the start and I knew exactly what was going to happen next, so I was more able to focus on the talent of the amazing cast and the brilliant voices that come along with them rather than on the story itself and that alone gave me the chance to not only fall in love with the musical at the Laura Pels, but also with each and every member of the cast, too!
So, now you’ve had something to eat, by hearing me talk about Mac and Pat’s characters and the musical Scotland, PA, perhaps you’ve even eaten a bit of Mac’s newest invention of a burger? If you have, and if you’ve read and understood the story of Macbeth, I’d fully believe you’d love Scotland, PA. And if you have enjoyed with Macbeth or Scotland, PA, maybe you might like to join me at the Diner for some pie? It may not be the same time period as either Macbeth or Scotland, PA, but at Waitress, they’ve got many a flavor of pie, and some even change by the day or by the time of day even! Surely you’ll find a flavor you’ll like too! Would you like to follow me? Maybe for a slice of Happiness Pie? I do know that’s a good one!
When it comes to Waitress, I also went in knowing almost nothing about the show. I hadn’t even listened to the soundtrack in full yet before seeing the show, and had only heard a few songs on accident. But as I sat in the Orchestra Section and the orchestra started to play, I fell in love with the musical. It doesn’t hurt that I’m also a server and some of the things that happened within the show are things which I’ve seen in the restaurants that I’ve worked at. For example, the story and friendships of Jenna (Katharine McPhee), Dawn (Caitlyn Houlahan), and Becky (Natasha Yvette Williams) made me smile. They clearly have each other’s backs through thick and thin, and I’ve had a few people like that in my life within the industry (though I’ve been more of that sort of person for others). The three main leads named above, and the others in the cast (like Drew Gehling - Doctor Pomatter, and Christopher Fitzgerald - Ogie, especially) drew me in more than anything else other than the beautiful music played by the orchestra and sung by the whole cast.
Jenna’s fear and then new knowledge of being pregnant, and then trying to hide money as often as she could around the house showed me that she wanted a better life for herself and for her unborn child. Jenna didn’t tell anyone she was doing this, but she shouldn’t have had to. When her husband found the money she’d hidden, she told him it was just for a crib for the baby, but she’d told him a bit of a lie. It was so that she could join in on the contest and maybe her pie could be the winner of this contest, which would not only get their baby a crib, but it could make it possible for her and her baby to get away from her husband who just wanted her for her money. He didn’t want their lives to be better, he didn’t want anything to change, which was the opposite of what Jenna wanted. This is something which fits into the world as we know it nowadays, with some people wanting to better themselves, especially for the sake of a child or other loved one. And it all is shown in Waitress! So that anyone could see that it’s okay to do something to better oneself, and Jenna has shown us that!
Before I go deeper into lessons from these musicals, I’d like to just say that as it was Scotland, PA’s closing show, they weren’t stage dooring, so I didn’t, once again, get signatures on the playbill. I was disappointed because I really wanted to at least see and thank Ryan McCartan, Taylor Iman Jones and Wonu Ogunfowora. Later on that night, at Waitress, I was able to stage door and was thrilled to see and be able to meet Katharine McPhee and the rest of the cast. I have to mention that there was one little encounter that made me smile and grin and it actually made my night over almost everything. Little Scarlett Sher came out the stage door, and as it was a Sunday, it was Scarlett’s show as Lulu, Jenna’s daughter who by the end of the show is the namesake of the Diner, and she was so excited! You could see how happy she was to stand there and draw everyone a bright pink heart with her initials on it as she tried so hard to catch all the playbills through the barriers. It was literally the CUTEST thing and she made me think of happy thoughts, that there are good things and happy things happening in the world today, and even sitting here writing this, I’m smiling.
The next thing I want to talk about is the lessons that these two now closed shows have taught me and others who’ve managed to be lucky enough to see their shows. In Scotland, PA, the lesson I see as the main lesson is you have to follow both your heart AND your mind together before you make your decisions. The main lesson I see coming from Waitress is that you can better your life, if you just take the leap and change your outcome yourself, that you can’t wait for someone else to do it for you!
If you ask me, neither of these shows should have closed, nor should a number of others which closed on January 5th and others which are closing later on this month as well. I get it, sometimes shows have to close to make room for new shows or new revivals, but I just wish I had more time, more of a chance to see these shows, and to help share the impact each of these stories has on the world around us.
