The practice of scenting a space, although not uncommon in retail and hospitality industries, is unusual in theater; Mr. Weissler, best known as the lead producer of “Chicago,” said he could not think of a precedent. He said that he had experimented with artificial sprays, but that they “smelled like the things you dangle in a car,” and had tried installing a working oven in the fake kitchen onstage, but there were logistical and safety concerns. “It just failed, one attempt after another,” he said.

Finally, the production hit upon a solution: installing a convection oven in an entry passageway just outside the doors to the theater’s orchestra seating. Before each performance, the show’s “pie consultant,” Stacy Donnelly, delivers an uncooked nine-inch double-crust apple pie; 20 minutes before the doors open, a theater staffer puts it in the oven, allowing it to cook slowly through the show. The odor wafts into the back of the orchestra whenever the doors are ajar, particularly just before the first act and during intermission; its intensity varies based on the air flow.

Ms. Donnelly, a Midtown Manhattan baker often called upon to make cakes for opening-night parties, has been working on “Waitress” for months. She has created pies for photo shoots and promotional events and for the set, made pies-in-jars for sale at the theater, and tutored Ms. Mueller in dough-kneading and one-handed egg-cracking.

But finding the right pie to scent the theater turned out to be tricky.

Ultimately, Ms. Donnelly wound up cutting out lemon juice, a standard ingredient, which she deduced was sealing in apple juices that she needed to leak out, and spiking the pies with high doses of cinnamon and nutmeg, which are especially fragrant. The pies, made with Granny Smith apples, are cooked at about 325 to 350 degrees so they can continue to bake for about 90 minutes without burning.

“It’s not meant to be consumed,” Ms. Donnelly said. “But the poor crew wants to eat it every time — they say, ‘It doesn’t taste right, but we can’t stop.’”