Based on the 2007 indie film written and directed by Adrienne Shelly, Waitress the musical is, like its inspiration, much loved at home in the United States.

It will be interesting to see how Australian audiences respond to this sweet confection, made with Middle American attitudes and sprinkled with plenty of distinctly American references.

Leads Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Rob Mills have popular appeal, and the songs are a strong calling card for Waitress, which opened on Broadway in 2016. They were written by two-time Grammy winner Sara Bareilles, who, together with Jessie Nelson (book), Diane Paulus (director) and Lorin Latarro (choreographer) were Broadway’s first all-female team of key creatives.

Waitress. Photo © Jeff Busby

Waitress is mostly set in a diner, where Jenna’s work includes creating delicious, evocatively named pies. It reminds her of her mother, and also offers distraction from her abusive marriage to Earl.

Aghast to discover she’s pregnant, Jenna is supported by fellow waitresses Becky and Dawn, and the old-fashioned wisdom of the diner’s owner, Joe, who suggests she enter a lucrative pie-making competition. Will that or the passionate affair with her obstetrician, the also-unhappy Dr Pomatter, be Jenna’s...