Still, Mom knows what really matters and insists that Ernestine learn to make the cake. When we first meet the teenage Ernestine, it is her mother (Susannah Flood) who is in charge, bustling about the kitchen while her exuberant daughter flitters about, declaring, "I am a rebel against the universe!" For now, that rebellion is mostly confined to preparing for tryouts for a feminist production of King Lear at her high school. One of these rituals is the baking of the annual birthday cake, a nearly sacramental rite that was begun by Ernestine's grandmother, its recipe mostly unchanged year after year. Through health and sickness, joy and sadness, love and loss, Ernestine clings to the talismans and rituals that provide her with a steady anchor when so much else is unpredictable and unalterable. Ninety years in 90 minutes, laid out in short scenes that offer glimpses into the comings and goings of boyfriends, spouses, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, all without reference to the outside world. That would be Ernestine (Debra Messing), whose life we follow (at least within the confines of her kitchen) from the age of 17 to 107. Sadly, however, as the play itself unfolds, nothing quite lives up to the promise of those pre-show glimpses into its central character.
In the soft glow of Jen Schriever's dreamy lighting, they suggest an illustration from one of Maurice Sendak's storybooks "In the Night Kitchen" comes to mind. Floating above the earthbound set are seemingly random objects that, taken together, represent the flotsam and jetsam of a lifetime of memories: a rocking horse here, a doll house there, a guitar, a basketball hoop, an umbrella, and many more. That's all thanks to set designer Christine Jones's fanciful overhead display. Noah Haidle's Birthday Candles, opening tonight at Roundabout Theatre Company's American Airlines Theatre, invites us into the world of the imagination even before the play begins. Theater: American Airlines Theatre, 227 West 42nd Street (Between 7th and 8th Avenues) Voice coach Kate Wilson.Ĭast: Debra Messing, Enrico Colantoni, John Earl Jelks, Crystal Finn, Susannah Flood, and Christopher Livingston. Make-up design by Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche. Theatre Review by Howard Miller - April 10, 2022īirthday Candles by Noah Haidle.
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