Chelsea Halfpenny Archives - North West End UK

30Jun

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Waitress – Wolverhampton Grand

As far as I can see, Waitress has been a huge success internationally with various runs on Broadway, West End and around the world and it was undoubtedly loved by the audience last night who greeted it like an old friend, laughing and cheering in equal measure at appropriate moments. Everyone seemed very familiar with the piece - apart from me. Nope. Never seen it, never heard of it. Didn’t recognise a single tune. This is no bad thing when accessing a new piece, but I did have an unsettling feeling of missing out. All the pieces fitted together - great performances, great music, great production, but beyond the clear professionalism of all concerned it didn’t quite touch me. I was, however, in a minority. Based on Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 movie of the same name it has now evolved, seemin...

10May

By Codie WrightNo Comments

North West

Waitress – Liverpool Empire

I’ll be honest, they had me at “all-female creative team”. I’d heard such a buzz about Waitress, but aside from some passionate warblings of “She Used to Be Mine” on many an am-dram stage, it wasn’t one I had quite gotten around to learning about, and so I was going in blind. Adapted from the film by Adrienne Shelly, the show features a heart-manipulating score by Sara Bareilles that takes the audience through a full spectrum of emotions across both acts. I will say that at times some lyrics got a little lost in the mix, which is a shame as there were some amazing laugh-out-loud moments, and real gut punches in the words that I could make out. The live band were set at the back of the stage, with members occasionally popping up elsewhere to build the story - such as a sultry cello narra...

1Feb

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Waitress – Hull New Theatre

It’s a good job I didn’t watch Waitress on an empty stomach; I would have been tempted to storm the stage to eat the props - the props being delicious-looking pies. Real or imitation, I don’t know, but by the yummy looks of them I wouldn’t have cared. The dreamy confections took centre stage at the Hull New Theatre on Monday evening, as the pie-themed musical disarmed the tastebuds of everyone in the packed auditorium. Most of the action takes place in Joe’s Pie Diner, a popular eatery in small-town Indiana, America. A staff of four - three waitresses, Jenna (Chelsea Halfpenny), Dawn (Evelyn Hoskins) and Becky (Sandra Marvin), and chef and manager Cal (Christopher D Hunt) - keep the diner ticking over nicely. Jenna is the expert pie-maker. Married to the controlling and self...

Chelsea Halfpenny to star as Jenna in Waitress Musical at Wolverhampton Grand!

17Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Chelsea Halfpenny to star as Jenna in Waitress Musical at Wolverhampton Grand!

Producers Barry & Fran Weissler and David Ian are delighted to announce that Chelsea Halfpenny with join the cast as Jenna in the smash hit romantic musical comedy Waitress. Chelsea will take over the role from Lucie Jones who leaves the production to move on to a soon to be announced new project. Waitress will play at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Tuesday 28th June – Saturday 2nd July 2022. Chelsea Halfpenny began her career in the popular children’s television series Byker Grove. She appeared as Amy Wyatt in Emmerdale for three years and Alice Munroe in Casualty, a part she played for four years. Chelsea recently made her West End debut as Judy Bernly in 9 to 5 The Musical at the Savoy Theatre. Waitress is based on the 2007 movie written by Adrienne Shelly. Music and lyri...