Waitress
Book by Jessie Nelson | Music & Lyrics by Sara Bareilles | Scenic Design by Yoon Bae | Costume Design by Patrick Holt | Lighting Design by Paul Miller | Direction by Melinda Pfundstein | Choreography by Natalie Malotke | Music Direction by Tom Griffin
Pioneer Theatre Company
Salt Lake City, Utah
“With a painter’s eye and a poet’s instinct, Paul Miller (Lighting Designer) bathes Waitress in hues that ache and heal. Amber warmth cradles the diner’s daily rhythm; cool blues swell around Jenna’s solitude. Each shift in light becomes an emotional sleight of hand, guiding us gently through heartbreak, hope, and everything in between.”
“Paul Miller’s lighting design is both dynamic and visually arresting, enriching the show’s emotional arc with intentional shifts in color temperature and intensity. His use of golden, rosy hues and soft, glowing backlight to evoke sunsets and sunrises adds radiant warmth and symbolic weight. These atmospheric moments frame Jenna’s story in natural cycles of endings and beginnings—the light shifting not only with the time of day but with her slow awakening to self-worth and possibility.”
