As Thanksgiving approaches, many of us may be thinking about pie—which ones to prepare for the feast, which family and friends may savor most. For Jenna, the lead character in Florida Studio Theatre’s season-opening production of Waitress, pies are about a lot more than a one-day celebration. They’re a connection to her late mother, with whom she baked; they’re a creative outlet and escape from life with her lout of a husband; and they’re a revelation of her emotional state.

That’s clear from the opening number in this musical version of the 2007 film starring Keri Russell and written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelly. “What’s Inside” reveals a pie’s ingredients—sugar, butter, flour—but also what lies inside small-town gal Jenna (Kaitlyn Davidson, appealing in the role), whose hopes and dreams for her life have been long buried. Things come to a head when she discovers she’s unexpectedly pregnant by husband Earl (James David Larson), who’s never grown up and is, at the least, borderline abusive.

Jenna decides to keep the baby despite her doubts about becoming a mother, but she’s thrown for another loop when she finds out her longtime doctor is retired, leaving her in the hands—ahem—of a new, male and pretty goofy doc (Quinn Corcoran), with whom she embarks on an ill-advised affair, since he’s married, too. (Plus, he’s her doctor, right?) Thank goodness she has solid friends in her fellow diner waitresses, Becky (Galyana Castillo) and Dawn (Charity Farrell), along with the sometimes cranky but ultimately good-hearted diner owner Joe (Scott Wakefield).

This adaptation of the film, with a book by Jessie Nelson and music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, sticks pretty close to the original, while adding its own flair and flavor. The scenes in the diner kitchen (the set by Isabel A. and Moriah Curley-Clay successfully places us there, aided by Ben Rawson’s lighting) have a sort of sweet magic to them, as Jenna creates pies with names like “Bad Baby Pie,” “Mermaid Marshmallow Pie” or "A Little Wild Wild Berry Pie.” There’s an alchemy at work here, both in the baking and in the mood, but that mood switches swiftly—sometimes too swiftly—to more raucous humor in the public space of the diner, where the outspoken Becky is having a very physical fling with gruff diner cook Cal (Jason Pintar) and the initially shy Dawn is soon deeply immersed in a relationship with fellow Revolutionary War buff Ogie (Nick Cearley).

The actors are totally committed to their actions in these scenes, no matter how broadly handled they might be (direction and choreography are by Ben Liebert), but the comedy can feel too forced or unbelievable at times. It’s also a little hard to accept Jenna’s quick couplings with Dr. Pomatter in his exam room, even though they both know they’re a “Bad Idea.”

For my money, it’s the quieter, more interior moments of “Waitress” that make it memorable, especially when Jenna faces up to how she’s disappointed herself with the show’s best-known song, the heart-wrenching “She Used to Be Mine.” It’s a crucial recognition that Davidson makes the most of.

The show’s orchestra, hidden offstage, occasionally sounded a bit muffled, and there were some sound issues on the night I attended Waitress. But the heart of the show beats strong, and who doesn’t like a sweet slice of pie now and then?

Waitress continues through Jan. 5 at FST’s Gompertz Theatre. For tickets, call (941) 351-8000 or visit floridastudiotheatre.org.