WAITRESS has arrived at A.C.T. of Connecticut—and every seat in the house is spoken for. Performances are sold out, with more than 100 names on the waitlist. But don’t let that stop you. To join the WAITRESS waitlist, call the Box Office at 475-215-5497. This isn’t just a show—it’s a seat at the counter, where the scent of something sweet lingers in the air and the pulse of the diner draws you in. Flawed, funny, and fiercely loyal, Jenna, Dawn, and Becky pull you into their world so completely, you don’t just watch—you feel like one of them. You root for them. You ache with them.
One of Artistic Director Daniel C. Levine’s greatest gifts is casting—not just for talent, but for truth. He finds the people who don’t act like characters, but rather, slip into them like a second skin. At A.C.T., performances don’t ask you to suspend disbelief. They invite you in. They meet you where you are.
Jenna, Heart First
As Jenna, Abigail Sparrow delivers a performance that lingers. Her voice is bold and achingly beautiful—big enough to stop you in your tracks, yet tender enough to break your heart. When she sings She Used to Be Mine, it’s not just a song. It’s a reckoning.
Jenna is the kind of woman who folds her grief into a pie crust and dares it to rise. Sparrow captures her resilience and her quiet rebellion. She is honey and grit. A mother-to-be, a poet of the kitchen, and a woman aching to reclaim her own life.
Her Circle of Strength
At the heart of Joe’s Pie Diner are two unwavering friends: Amma Osei as Becky, full of fire and grounded wisdom, and Shaylen Harger as Dawn, sweetly anxious and endlessly endearing. They’re more than coworkers. They’re Jenna’s tether. Their sisterhood is fierce, funny, and healing.
Wesly Slade is like the SNL skit you watch on replay as Ogie, Dawn’s oddball suitor. A tax auditor with a magician’s flair and a heart that doesn’t play by the rules, Ogie is delightfully offbeat. Slade plays him with gleeful precision, finding charm in every awkward beat. He and Dawn are the kind of perfect you don’t expect—kismet in mismatched shoes.
In Jenna’s Orbit
There’s Joseph Torello as Cal, the gruff cook who keeps the kitchen humming and the sass flying, and David Sitler as Joe—the diner’s namesake, a sharp-tongued old soul and diner patron who sees more than he lets on. Then there’s Cody Jenkins as Earl, Jenna’s possessive and volatile husband—beer in hand, name tattooed across his chest (just in case he forgets it). John Alejandro Jeffords steps into the role of Dr. Pomatter, Jenna’s kind-hearted gynecologist (and not exactly the sharpest scalpel on the surgical tray) who falls for her—and her pies—with reckless speed.
And Finally, LuLu
Then comes LuLu, played by Maeve Marbury, whose presence in the final moments is soft, simple, and soul-shifting. She reminds us that joy is never far—it’s inside us, waiting. Her innocence binds the story like the final ribbon on a gift you didn’t know you needed.
The World They Live In
Director Sara Brians paints this world with care—honoring WAITRESS’s legacy without imitation. There is no gloss, no pretense. The teal-and-chrome diner set, worn and welcoming, feels like somewhere you’ve been before. It doesn’t impress—it embraces. Under Brians’ direction, every moment has room to breathe. Joy and pain sit side by side. Nothing is rushed, and nothing is wasted.
Ensemble members glide in and out of scenes with beauty and intention. With just 19 actors and 350 props, the production moves like a waltz—each step choreographed, each beat earned.
Music Director Nicholas Connors treats Sara Bareilles’ score with the reverence it deserves. Folk-pop harmonies tethered to a beat that feels like the hum of a busy kitchen—familiar, tender, alive.
The Final Course of Season 7
WAITRESS is more than a season finale. It’s a culmination—a story that feeds something deeper than entertainment. Season 8 tickets go on sale Monday, June 9 and, in A.C.T. of CT fashion, they will sell out in a flash! Go online or call the Box Office https://www.actofct.org/
See you at Joe’s Pie Diner for the slice du jour.
Learn more https://www.actofct.org/waitress
*Image courtesy A.C.T. of CT