Pure Prairie League Plays Jergel’s; Order Up, ‘Waitress’ at PMT (Thurs., 5/1/25)

1) “Amie, what you wanna do?” It’s one of the sweetest refrains in country rock, and if you wanna hear the latest incarnation of the group that broke to national fame with “Amie” (above) back in the ‘70s, you can catch Pure Prairie League at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille. PPL’s lineup has changed over the years, of course, and the music has evolved somewhat, too. But when it comes to that easy-rollin’ Pure Prairie sound—with bluegrass inflections, from the band’s origins in Waverly, Ohio, midway between Chillicothe and the Kentucky line—the sound is still there. Country music star Vince Gill was a member of the band in 1979. Pure Prairie League took their name from a fictional 19th-century temperance union in the 1939 Errol Flynn cowboy movie Dodge City. Pure Prairie League is celebrating their 50th Anniversary. Their latest LP is 2024’s Back on Track. 8 p.m. 285 Northgate Dr., Warrendale. (E.C., R.H.)

WAITRESS (musical) by Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson, from Adrienne Shelly’s film. Pittsburgh Musical Theater. May 1 – 25

2) Why is the musical Waitress so popular? An easy answer would be that lots of people have been wait staff, and they can relate, except Waitress isn’t really about the waiting profession. It deals with pies and pregnancy and strange relationships … aha, bingo! We’ve all had at least two of those three. The songs in Waitress include “Bad Idea,” “Club Knocked Up,” and “I Love You Like a Table.” Please excuse the absence of a plot summary, as it is difficult to explain how Revolutionary War re-enactors fit in. You can now see Waitress in its first Pittsburgh-based production, by Pittsburgh Musical Theater. Music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, a six-time Grammy nominee in pop music; book by Jessie Nelson, adapted from the 2007 indie film by Adrienne Shelly. 7:30 p.m. The show is in PMT’s Gargaro Theater, 327 S. Main St., West End. (M.V.)

La’Nette Wallace as Becky, Zanny Laird as Jenna, and Catherine Baird as Dawn in PMT’s production of ‘Waitress.’ (Photo by Dnapps Productions.)

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