So, when I had the chance to see Waitress at Milton Keynes Theatre, I was extremely excited but knew Sara and the production were going to be a very hard act to follow. But WOW! What an evening it was.

Waitress follows Jenna, a gifted pie maker trapped in an unhappy and abusive marriage, whose dreams of escape are reignited by a local baking contest and the arrival of a new doctor. With the support of her friends, she finds the courage to reclaim her independence and reshape her future.

What struck me immediately was how well this production had been put together. One of the first things I noticed was that the band was on stage. As a musician, I love that. A musical isn’t a musical without the music, so why hide the musicians away? They should be part of the action, and that is exactly where they were.

Seeing the musicians creating the music as the action unfolded made the production feel alive, and the playing was excellent throughout.

There was also a lovely moment involving a lone double bass during one of the songs. The bassist was simply leaning against a lamppost, but the image, together with the music, captured the atmosphere of the musical. It was a simple idea, but very effective.

The choreography and staging were equally strong. A lot was going on, but it was seamless. Nothing seemed to be there simply for effect. Every movement, entrance and piece of staging contributed to the story.

The principal actors all gave 100%. Carrie Hope Fletcher as Jenna was outstanding. She has a beautiful voice; her transitions between registers were faultless. Her voice was strong but never forced, so it was easy to listen to such a beautiful sound. Her acting and timing were impeccable; she is a very astute actress who brought real depth to the character.

Dan O’Brien, standing in for Les Dennis as Joe, was excellent. His performance proves that these shows really don’t need a celebrity and, in fact, are all the richer for not having one. It needs good performers, and there were plenty of them.

Bernadette Bangura as Becky was sassy and strong, with funny movement and a magnificent voice. Evelyn Hoskins also brought great strength to her character and played the role beautifully.

Dan Partridge as Dr Pomatter was particularly funny. His awkward, nervous physicality was brilliantly observed. The rehearsal and commitment behind that performance must have been considerable, and it made the character both lovable and hilarious.

Will Arundel stood in as Cal wonderfully, whilst Mark Wilsher as Earl created something very different. Earl was genuinely frightening at times and had me feeling quite tense, which was very effective.

The chorus were outstanding. They were often the customers sitting in the diner, not simply background decoration, but creating the world around the principal characters, and I repeatedly found myself watching them. Their acting was convincing even when they weren’t the focus of the scene.

There was a particularly clever use of the chorus when Jenna goes into labour. Other women gradually came on stage, one by one, copying and reflecting Jenna’s movements. It took something intensely personal and made it universal. The movement of one woman was echoed by the others until the whole stage seemed to experience it with her. It was a very effective piece of theatre.

Waitress is an intelligent musical. The songs have genuine musical substance: melodies, harmonies, rhythms and lyrics that stand on their own. They aren’t simply there to move the plot along or give everyone an excuse to sing. There is proper songwriting here. The songs have character, emotional depth and individuality. They sound as though they were written because there was something musical and emotional to say. For me, that is one of the great strengths of Waitress: the music and the storytelling belong together.

This is the standard I always hope to see in a show, and so often I am disappointed. This, however, was a superbly crafted piece of theatre right down to the fine detail, performed by a company that gave everything they had - actors, chorus, musicians and the whole creative team. It was funny, moving, clever, beautifully performed and musically strong.

Ultimately, it was an utterly thrilling evening of theatre.