Waitress is a phenomenal musical—anyone who’s seen it can attest to that. Sugar, butter, flour, and a heaping cup of talent brought this show to life. It was located in the quaint Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway, the intimate setting lending to its undeniable charm (as well as the mini pies in jars being sold to the audience).

Based on the book by Jessie Nelson, Waitress follows the heart-warming and heart-wrenching story of waitress, Jenna (Jessie Mueller), who is encumbered by her marriage to scummy lowlife, Earl (William Popp), and an unexpected, unwanted pregnancy. Jenna is known for her scrumptious, out-of-this-world pies, and bakes a wide array of flavors (all with unique and punny names like Betrayed By My Eggs Pie) fresh each morning. Baking pies is what her mother taught her when she was a child—a welcome distraction from her father’s “moods,” so it is incorporated throughout the entirety of the play, sometimes in songs and sometimes to add in funny innuendos.

Prior to the latticed fruity pie curtain being lifted on the stage, a silly little Sara Bareilles tune about turning off your cellphones played. It was then that I had a good feeling about the show, and I was right to feel as such.

The threesome leading the show to great heights includes Jenna and her very different, but both very likable best friends (also waitresses at Joe’s Pie Diner), Becky (Charity Angél Dawson) and Dawn (Caitlin Houlahan). Becky’s a feisty powerhouse with a heart of gold mixed with fire, and Dawn is a goofy, sweetheart who enjoys collecting turtles and partaking in Civil War reenactments. The two women help Jenna every step of the way; they are fiercely loyal and protective.

*Spoilers Ahead*

The other showstoppers are Dr. Pomatter (Drew Gehling), Ogie (Christopher Fitzgerald), Cal (Max Kumangai), and Joe (Eric Anderson). Dr. Pomatter is one of those adorably awkward characters who captures your heart in seconds milliseconds. Example A: When he drops a paper and doesn’t just reach down to pick it up, instead he *gracefully* flops onto the floor, and seems to slide around for a bit, his arms flailing, before retrieving it. I tried to dislike him solely for the fact that he cheats on his perfectly peachy wife with Jenna, but it was too difficult a task.

Ogie joins in on the fun by going to Joe’s Pie Diner to profess his love to Dawn. Their whole relationship provides plenty of comic relief because of their quirkiness. Ogie’s on-the-spot poems are hilarious, and when he suddenly projects his voice like an opera singer and dances like his pants are on fire, I was thinking, YES! Is he the best? YES!

Cal is a hoot, all sassy and fed-up with the women chit-chatting instead of working. His fling with Becky is predictable but humorous nonetheless thanks to their reactions when Jenna finds out about them. Cal fumbles for the right words to say, and settles on nothing, while Becky *subtlely* fixes her outfit and gets back to work.

Joe, oh Joe. Who doesn’t find the gruff old guy with a secret soft-spot for the main character to be endearing? He labels Jenna as his only friend and proceeds to give her his pie diner. Awww...right? With all of my future meals, I’d like a side of his lovely song, “Take It From an Old Man,” on its own plate, of course.

Waitress is hysterical, and I mean that in the fullest sense of the word. Hy-ster-i-cal. Believe me when I say this, the crowd was practically roaring with laughter during certain scenes, especially the ones featuring Dr. Pomatter or Ogie. I heard one man say that he was laughing so hard he cried—fellow, I was in that very same boat, and it was fantastic.

Jessie Mueller has an incredible voice that would go from being angelic and airy to powerful and raw in an instant. She could sing the phonebook and I would listen raptly all night long. Jessie, if you ever read this, Jenna’s pie may be “otherworldly,” as Dr. Pomatter so accurately puts it, but your voice is on an even higher level—it’s ethereal.

Jessie isn’t the only one whose voice had me awestruck, Becky and Dawn were incredibly impressive in their vocal range and pitch as well! (Everyone was fabulous, but those were the voices that really knocked it out of the park.)

Filled with a satisfying sense of clever humor, topped with a dollop of heartache, and baked to 400 degrees of musical genius, (thanks to Sara Bareilles), Waitress is nothing short of a masterpiece. If I were to pull a Jenna, and bake a pie summing up my feelings during the musical, it would be titled: why-am-I-crying-and-laughing-at-the-same-time pie because the show was so evocative, eliciting a plethora of varying emotions from me.

The ending is what really got me. Jenna’s baby. Her little girl. Lulu changes everything for her, and makes her realize she wants to strive for happiness, for herself and for her precious daughter. I cried…more than once. It is such a fulfilling, beautifully-done ending that sent my heart soaring. In one particular moment, when Jenna finally rids herself of Earl, I was so proud of her decision that I had the biting urge to cheer (some people in the theatre started clapping, as we had all been anxiously awaiting to see what she would do). Though I wish we could’ve still seen her enter—and most probably win—the pie contest, watching her open up her own pie diner was satisfying enough.

I left the theatre beaming and full of hope and joy. What a testament to everything that went into that show: the acting, the writing, the music, the setting, etc. Everything was stellar.

If there’s one thing to take away from this show, I think it would be: never settle for happy enough. Find true, utter happiness, and let go of anything pinning you down.