Emily Bourgeois plays the lead character, Jenna, in Theatre Baton Rouge’s production of the musical Waitress.
Photo by Jackie Haxhausen
Two characters caught in desperate circumstances carve their way to a better life on two Baton Rouge stages Friday, when Theatre Baton Rouge premieres “Waitress” and Baton Rouge Playmakers premieres “James and the Giant Peach.”
Although the nature of both musical productions is quite different, the message is the same: “You can make it.”
But that doesn’t mean you won’t get a little help along the way. For Jenna, a young, pregnant waitress, that help comes from the circle of friends she works with at Joe’s Diner.
But Jenna, played by Emily Bourgeois, isn’t just a waitress: She’s an innovative pie baker who stocks the restaurant’s tables with sweet treats.
Her passion is baking, and even though she’s in a place where her talent is recognized, she’s not happy.
Enter Jenna’s husband, Earl (played by Matthew Walker), who describes Earl as a former big man on his high school campus, perhaps a star quarterback who never developed beyond that.
“He was used to a lot of female attention, and then that faded away,” Walker said. “Then one day he met a waitress at a restaurant.”
From left, Emily Bourgeois as Jenna, Rebecca Smith as Dawn and Kim Tran as Becky in Theatre Baton Rouge’s production of the musical “Waitress.”
Photo by Jackie Haxhausen
Earl is basically a goofy character who demands Jenna’s full attention, and also when he finds out she’s pregnant, he makes her promise he won’t love the baby more than he loves himself.
She feared her pregnancy would be the key to trapping her in an unhappy life with Earl, but in reality it was her catalyst for freedom.
Fans of the 2007 indie film starring Keri Russell already know how the story unfolds, but for those unfamiliar with it, anything more would be a spoiler.
It’s fair to say that Jenna’s gynecologist, Dr. Pomatter (Jonathan Thomas), plays a key role in this part of Jenna’s story, with Thomas portraying the good doctor as a somewhat clueless man trapped in his own less-than-perfect world.
And then there are Jenna’s friends and co-workers, Becky (Kim Tran) and Dawn (Rebecca Smith).
Dawn was played by Adrienne Shelly in the film, which she also wrote and directed.
“She was found dead before the movie was released,” director Lily McGill said, “and it’s believed she was murdered. Her story is so tragic that the Broadway writers followed the movie script closely, so the stage play followed the movie closely.”
But this nod to Shelley’s work also places an added responsibility on Smith.
“I’ve never seen the film but I have seen the play,” Smith said, “Lily and I had discussed Adrienne Shelley’s story, so there’s a special responsibility in taking on this role and putting my own spin on it.”
Waitress stars Emily Bourgeois as Jenna and Jonathan Thomas as Dr. Pomatter.
Photo by Jackie Haxhausen
Finally, Auggie, a nerdy diner patron played by Thomas Jackson, tries to win Dawn’s heart with some lame poetry.
“One thing that’s definitely changed from the movie is that Dawn’s attitude towards Auggie has been softened,” McGill said. “It’s been softened a lot, which is good, because in the movie, Dawn was really mean when Auggie tried to talk to her.”
So while Jenna strives for happiness on the stage at the Baton Rouge Theatre, orphan James Henry Trotter, played by 13-year-old University High School eighth grader Drew Trahan, uses the magic peach to escape the cruel authority of his foolish aunts.
Connor Swilley, left, plays narrator Ladderlord and Drew Trahan plays James in Playmakers of Baton Rouge’s production of Roald Dahl’s musical James and the Giant Peach.
Staff photo by Robin Miller
The musical is based on the 1961 children’s novel by author Roald Dahl. In the novel, James chooses a peach as his vehicle because it is “prettier, bigger and softer than a cherry.”
James is joined by seven magically transformed garden bugs: Northwestern Middle School eighth grader Donovan Clark (13) as the Grasshopper, University High School junior Evie Trahan (17) as the Ladybug, Episcopal High School sophomore Ava Rubtom (15) as the Spider, St. Joseph Academy junior Caroline Keyser (16) as the Centipede, and Northwestern Middle School eighth grader Xavier Haynes (13) as the Earthworm.
Drew Trahan stars in the lead role in Playmakers of Baton Rouge’s production of Roald Dahl’s musical, James and the Giant Peach.
Staff photo by Robin Miller
The main cast includes 15-year-old Episcopal High School freshman Connor Swilley as the narrator, Ladderlord; 17-year-old home-schooled high school senior Zoe Pickard as James’ aunt Spiker; and 16-year-old St. Joseph’s Academy sophomore Claire McGuinness as Sponge.
Both Pickard and McGuinness portray their aunts as women who love the finer things in life but don’t want to work for them.
“They think they’re smarter than they actually are,” Picard said.
“And they steal,” McGuinness said. “They also use James as a way to get what they want.”
The show will be choreographed by Jeffrey Harris Jr. and directed by Amy Gomez.
“What I love about this story is that when we’re going through hard things in our lives, our loved ones and friends help us realize that there’s still beauty in the world,” Gomez said. “No matter what happens, they help us explore different adventures that we never thought we’d have.”
The spiteful aunts are played by Claire McGuinness (left) as Sponge and Zoe Pickard (right) as Spiger, while Drew Trahan plays James in James and the Giant Peach.
Staff photo by Robin Miller
“Waitress”
Produced by Theatre Baton Rouge
Friday, Sunday, Friday-Sunday, Aug. 23-25, and Thursday-Sunday, Aug. 29-Sept. 1. Sunday matinees start at 2 p.m. All performances start at 7:30 p.m.
TBR Main Stage, 7155 Florida Blvd.
$43-$48
(225) 924-6496 or theaterbr.org
“James and the Giant Peach”
Baton Rouge Playmakers
Friday at 7pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2pm, Friday August 23rd at 7pm, Saturday and Sunday August 24th and 25th at 2pm
Riley Theatre, Tower Drive, LSU Campus
$30 for adults, $20 for students and children.
(225) 578-6996 or playmakersbr.org