Birthday Candles

Why You Should Watch Birthday Cakes

As Ernestine (the protagonist) transitions from teenage to adulthood, her birthday cakes never change. Writer Noah Haidle delicately explores how it might seem like everything in the world is always changing, but the most subtle and beautiful aspects of life always remain constant. The stellar cast led by veteran director Vivienne Benesch manages to bring out the range of emotions that Haidle infused into the play.

In this production, Debra Messing will take on the role of Ernestine. She has starred in several films, television series, and plays, including the immensely popular Ned and Stacey (1995-1997) and Prey (1998). She is best known, however, for her exquisite performance on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace. She has been nominated six times for a Golden Globe Award and five times for a Primetime Emmy.

As Birthday Cakes transports its audience into the quaint world of Ernestine, it begins to explore profound ideas such as the meaning of life and our place in the cosmos.

The Story

The story opens with a 17-year-old Ernestine helping her mother bake her birthday cake. She looks down upon all aspects of normal life and intends to be a ‘rebel against the universe’. As with most other teenage rebels, Ernestine eventually gets married and begins raising kids, wondering all along if she should have postponed her descent into a conventional lifestyle.

With every clang of a small bell on stage, the show jumps from one of Ernestine’s birthdays to the next. The timeline jumps are not uniform; sometimes it is just a year, and in other instances, it is over a decade. We see Ernestine grow and mature over more than eighty years, from her 17th birthday to her 101st. Will Ernestine succeed in her quest to ‘surprise God’ through a life well-lived?

Good For

Family Audiences | Fans of Debra Messing

Critics Reviews

“Like its cake-baking heroine, “Birthday Candles” is destined for a long life”
– Detroit Free Press