A Slice of the Pie: My thoughts on Waitress

In 2008, I got Sara Bareille's CD Little Voice and couldn't get enough of it (this was the CD with the hit "Love Song".)

A while back, I saw the movie Waitress, starring Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion. I enjoyed it a lot and kept thinking of the little song Jenna would sing throughout the movie.

What do these two statements have in common? Well, in 2016, Waitress became a Broadway musical, with the music and lyrics written by Sara Bareilles, who even played Jenna on stage for a while.

And this past weekend, I finally got to see it during its tour at The National Theatre in Washington, DC.

This is what the curtain looks like before the show and during intermission. Makes you hungry for pie, right? (They actually were selling jars of it in the lobby, but we didn't get any.)

In the beginning, the curtain opens up to what is supposed to be the kitchen of Joe's Diner, where Jenna is baking her pies with the interesting names. Then the stage quickly reverts to the diner and it looks amazing. The backdrop sets the scene, making us feel like the diner is in the middle of a country road. I was completely impressed with the sets for this production, between the diner, Jenna's house, and the doctor's office. It all had a realistic feel. The orchestra was on stage for most of the show and they interacted with the cast, as well as dressed to fit the mood of the scene. 

From Broadway.com

The music was great. I could easily tell that Sara Bareilles had written it, as the songs carried her flair throughout. Some of the songs that stood out for me were "Opening Up," "What Baking Can Do," "When He Sees Me," "You Will Still Be Mine," "Never Ever Getting Rid of Me," "Bad Idea," "I Didn't Plan It," "She Used to Be Mine," and "Everything Changes." I didn't know that many of the songs going in, and I wouldn't say I was singing them coming out, but I am excited to listen to the soundtrack more, as it will take me back to the experience of watching it. Perhaps even more songs will stand out to me by then. The original soundtrack features the voices of Keala Settle (Lettie in The Greatest Showman) as Becky and Kimiko Glenn (Soso in Orange is the New Black) as Dawn. 

I didn't recognize anyone from the touring cast, but I thought they were a terrific ensemble. I enjoyed watching them together and not knowing them to begin with kept them in character more than if I were thinking of them as someone famous. (Like when I saw Adam Pascal as Shakespeare in Something Rotten.) Desi Oakley was fantastic as Jenna. She really owned that part and had an incredible singing voice. At first, I was annoyed with her speaking voice. It was this low southern accent. However, I remembered that Keri Russell did that with her voice in the movie (perhaps more subtly) and it endeared me to Desi after I got used to it. Lenne Klingaman and Charity Angel Dawson were perfect in their roles of Dawn and Becky, respectively. They had great stage presence and brought a lot of humor to the show. As Earl, Nick Bailey actually reminded me of Adam Pascal. Or at least his voice did. I liked him more in the role than I liked Jeremy Sisto in the movie. Jeremy Morse was hilarious as Ogie. He reminded me of a very young version of Leslie Jordan. I saw that he originated the role on Broadway. Finally, Maiesha McQueen was really funny as Nurse Norma. 

It's been such a long time since I've seen the movie that I forgot Becky and Dawn even had their own story lines. Unless they were embellished for the stage production. I really need to watch the movie again. Just seeing the trailer again made me realize how similar the lines were. The one about coffee definitely stood out. 

Overall, it was truly an enjoyable production. I got teary-eyed at the beginning and full-on cried at the end. I also laughed throughout, although not as much as I did for Something Rotten. The humor was more subtle. If you're able to see it in DC, it's here through Sunday and available on Today Tix. Otherwise, I hope you get to see it in a town near you, or on Broadway. It's definitely a treat. I'd suggest not bringing young children, as there are some inappropriate bits! I didn't even want to bring my Broadway loving 12 year-old to this one, and I'm glad for it. 

Here is a glimpse of the show, featuring Sara Bareilles on Broadway:

I love the Playbill for this show. It captures the essence so well:

Saw it with my husband, who enjoyed it too

Met up with one of my close friends
(and theater buddies) there

The Goldbergs, Season 5-with SPOILERS

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Another fun season of The Goldbergs has come to an end. This time around, Erica was in a different location from the rest of the family, even though they did still spend a lot of time together. It was fun seeing what college was like for her, in DC no less! There have been some changes for Barry, Adam, and especially Beverly, with her Bevolution. All in all, it made for a lot of laughs.

Here are some of my favorite episodes, in chronological order:

Episode 4-Revenge O' the Nerds
Beverly tries to reinvent herself in more than one way, while Erica asks for Adam's help at college.
Gotta love Beverly's perm. And the homage to RoTN was awesome.



Episode 9-Parents Just Don't Understand
A song written by Adam and Barry doesn't get the accolades they hoped for, while Erica needs distance from Beverly.
It reminded me of the time I memorized "Parents Just Don't Understand." Plus there were some really funny moments.


Episode 10-We Didn't Start the Fire
The battle for the best Hanukkah party begins.
The remake of Billy Joel's classic hit was spot on! I also loved all the Hanukkah oneupmanship between Beverly and Lou Schwartz.


Episode 11-The Goldberg Girls
Beverly creates her own mom group, while Erica reaches a breaking point with Geoff.
Beverly was so funny with her mom group. I love how she tried to create her own set of Golden Girls. You'll recognize one of her friends as Flo from the Progressive Insurance commercials.

Courtesy of Nutmeg Creative

Episode 12-Dinner with the Goldbergs
Geoff joins the family out for Erica's birthday dinner.
This episode is one of the best of the season. The family's dinner antics are hilarious. My kids and I still quote lines from it.




Episode 15-Adam Spielberg
Adam loves director Steven Spielberg so much and decides to film an original script he wrote about Indiana Jones and his passion for directing is called into question. Meanwhile, Murray and Barry make a bet about whether or not a cheesesteak sandwich in New Jersey is the best one ever.
The scenes where Adam is trying to film his movie are so funny and I love Barry's quest to find the best cheesesteak sandwich.



Episode 16-The Scrunchie Rule
When Beverly gets a glimpse into a soon-to-be empty nest, she replaces her kids with the Mellor brothers, nursing Coach Mellor back to health after falling off the rope climb. Meanwhile, Erica and her college roommate get on each other's nerves in their dorm room, especially when Valley Erica puts a scrunchie on the door and kicks Erica out.
I love how Erica gets Barry and her friends involved in her fight with the other Erica. And Beverly is at her best with trying to help Coach Mellor...by mothering him.

Episode 17-Colors
Barry enlists the JTP to help him break up Beverly's group of friends so Barry can have all the attention but soon realizes he made a major mistake when Beverly gets into a fight with her friends. Meanwhile, Adam's attempts to trick Murray into loving theater backfire.
I think the theater stuff is the reason I liked this episode a lot, but it was also nice to see more of Beverly with her group of friends (a.k.a. Frentas).



Episode 19-Flashy Little Flashdancer
The family doesn't support Beverly when she decides to take up dance with the Frentas; when Emmy starts dating a cool guy, Adam thinks their friendship is in jeopardy.
Beverly's dance routine was good, so I was surprised that her family was laughing. I loved how she and the Frentas were all chaotic on stage. It was also nice to see Emmy Mirsky again.



Episode 22-Let's Val Kilmer This Car
When Lainey moves back to town, Barry asks her to the prom; Erica tells Murray she has made a final decision about her future in college.
A great final episode of the season. The timing of when I watched it is funny in relation to this news story. I also loved the Real Genius references. It's a moral imperative to list this episode as one of my favorites!

While I was excited for the Spaceballs episode, I was hoping for more Spaceballs and less politics. And Rick Moranis only had a voice cameo. It had some funny moments, like when Adam was explaining his Star Wars knowledge to Jackie's dad.

The Goldbergs will be back for season six this fall! I can't wait to see more 80's references (courtesy of Adam) and smothering (courtesy of Beverly). What movies do you think they should parody this time around? I feel like they've covered so many in five seasons. They may have to go more obscure. (I hope they're not running out of ideas! Maybe they can work with some more TV shows, like Family Ties or Punky Brewster.)

This Dojo Has Mojo

Courtesy of IndieWire

Ever since I was a child, I've been a fan of The Karate Kid. I was almost eight years old when it came out, and I remember making my parents take me to see it more than once in the theater. Two years ago, I watched it again for the first time in ages, with my son (who was also eight at the time). I was reminded why I loved it so much and even got teary-eyed by the end. So I was excited to hear that there would be a new TV series as a sequel set 34 years later. It looked funny and interesting based on the trailer, but I wasn't prepared for how amazing it would be! If you haven't seen the trailer yet, watch it here:




Like what you saw? You can watch the first episode for free here. Hungry for more? YouTube Red has a free one-month trial. There are only 10 30-minute episodes. You'll breeze through them in a week. (Or a day, if you have five hours available for binge-watching.)

Not sure yet? Here are some reasons (in my opinion) to check it out:

*It captures the feel of the original movie. Even though it takes place in the present, I sometimes felt transported back to the 80's.

*There are flashback scenes from the original movie, which makes it fun to reminisce.

*It is really funny. There are times when it gets dark, but other times when it's impossible not to laugh out loud.

*It spins the story from the original movie on its tail, making Johnny into the good guy (even though he does have some moments where he is still unlikable) and Daniel into the bad guy (while he can be nice and fun at times, he also comes off as a jerk).

*Golf 'N Stuff is still around!

*They play this song again. I forgot how much I liked it.

*Samantha (Daniel's teenage daughter) is to this show what Nancy is to Stranger Things. Girl crush worthy. (The actress who plays her is in her early 20s.)

*The kid who played Victor in Parenthood is now a teenager and one of the main stars.

*If you are going through Mean Girls withdrawal, this show has the cure. Yasmine is the new Regina George.

*Seeing the underdogs triumph while working with Sensei Lawrence.

*Three words: Chad Brad Bradley. If you're a Fuller House fan, you'll recognize the actor in his new role as Johnny's son Robby.

*Daniel's wife, Amanda, is the voice of reason on the show. She keeps Daniel from going too far off the edge in his quest for vengeance against Johnny.

*Daniel's son, Anthony, reminds me of my 10 year-old son in personality. So if you want to see what I get to live with every day...

*You get to find out what Ali is up to, although I hope Elizabeth Shue will have a guest appearance in season two. If the actress who played Daniel's mother can come back, then anything is possible!

*Amazing fight scenes. I forgot to breathe from one of them and was overcome with emotion afterward.

*After each episode, you'll find yourself saying "such a great show!"

*Lots of interesting surprises in store.

*You have from now until 2019, when it will be back for season two!

Giving up on the ghost

I was inspired to write this because of a HerStories Project writing exercise about friendship at midlife. I submitted it to them, but since it didn't get chosen, a close friend said I should share it anyway....

Fifteen years ago, the concept of “ghosting” didn’t exist yet. It happened to me though, and I didn’t know how to define it at the time….

I had a great friendship with a girl I connected with during the end of my second to last year of college (back in the late 90s). We had a lot of interests in common and so much to talk about. We’d e-mail all the time and even tell each other stuff that was deeply personal.

During the summer before my last year of college, she moved out to my neck of the woods, so I tried to connect her with some people to make her adjustment that much easier. One attempt was to introduce her to a guy as a potential love interest. That was a minor fail because she fell for his friend and they got married about two years later. For a while, we still had stuff to talk about, but less in common, as she was embarking on this whole grown-up, career-driven, married, suburban life and I was still at home with my parents after graduating college and having trouble finding jobs while in a dead-end dating relationship. It sometimes felt like she was judging my relationship at the time and looking down on me for it, but it also was a gentle nudge to say that it wasn’t the right relationship for me, even though I couldn’t see it yet.

Later, I was in a better place in my life (I had just started dating my husband and was living on my own with a stable job) and she became a mom around that same time. I was really happy for her. Things were good between us for a while, even though she was busy with the demands of motherhood.

That all changed about a year later, when she disappeared off the face of the planet. This was shortly after she and her toddler had visited me at my apartment one afternoon. I was a bit nervous because my place wasn’t child-proofed, but I still enjoyed having her child there. Afterward, I made efforts to stay in contact, but they were not reciprocated. The most contact I had from her was a short reply to a party invitation saying she wasn’t available to attend. After some deliberation, I eventually decided not to invite her to my wedding or any parties leading up to it.

I’m disappointed that we lost contact and that I never had an explanation as to why. I guess that’s her choice and I’ve made so many other good friends since then. Sometimes I wonder what things would have been like if we had stayed friends. A couple of years after she cut off contact, I had my first child. I imagine that we would have had a lot to talk about and that I would have asked her for parenting advice. Especially since both our firstborns are the same gender. Would we have stayed in touch when I moved to another state? Would we have been connected on social media? Fifteen years feels like a lifetime, and I’m only in my early forties. That’s a decade and a half of experiences we didn’t get to tell each other about.

What I also wonder is if she ever thinks of me. I try to keep her out of my mind, but things will come up that remind me of her. I still remember her birthday. Sometimes I see celebrities who look like her on TV or in movies. She sometimes appears in my dreams and we have conversations. And I wonder how I’d react if she ever realized the error of her ways and came back to me to ask forgiveness. I don’t see that ever happening, but I would hope I would have it in me to hear her out and forgive her.

I feel like being ghosted by this friend has colored the way I see my friendships since then. I have a hard time trusting the friendship, even when I probably have nothing to worry about. If I don’t hear from a friend for a certain amount of time, I get all paranoid and emotional about it and over-analyze everything I’ve said and done in their presence or via e-mail. I do have a lot of wonderful friends whom I trust, but there’s always that nagging feeling that I’ll do one little thing to mess up the friendship and it will be like this situation all over again. And given that I have so many fulfilling and meaningful friendships now, why do I still think of this one friend and what could have been? The one thing I have learned from this is to not ghost my friends. If it’s a mutual parting of ways, that’s one thing, but I won’t put a friend through what I have been through.

Some parts of this post were taken from a post I wrote in 2010: Friends 'til the "end"