New Yorkers: Amy on stage tonight?
From Daily Candy: If starving actors and actresses wait tables between gigs, wouldn’t it follow
that playing a waitress onstage would be a no-brainer of a role? Director and screenwriter
Adrienne Shelley may or may not have drawn on life experience when writing her latest play,
Waitress. She did, however, call on her real contacts when she asked WET, the not-for-profit
theater production company that supports women in the arts, to help stage the show. That was
last week. Fast-forward to tonight (and tonight only): There will be a reading of Shelley’s script at
the East 13th Street Theater. The plot: a quirky, romantic story of a waitress who can dish it out
everywhere. Except, that is, at home. The conflict: She hates her husband and she wants out, but
she just found out she’s pregnant. The supporting players: pie-serving sidekicks and a nebbishy
gynecologist. Waitress stars Paul Rudd, Gretchen Mol, and possibly a certain commedienne
whose name we’ve been asked not to reveal (but whose initials are A.S.). There’s going to be an
after-party, so be sure to tip your caterwaiters nicely. Hoping for seconds? You’ll have to talk to
the chefs. Reading of Adrienne Shelley’s Waitress, 6 p.m., at East 13th Street Theater, 136 East
13th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues (212-396-4280). Tickets are free, but the theater
is small. Accommodations are first come, first served, and priority is given to those who sign up.
For more information and to put yourself on the guest list, go to wetweb.org.