KALAMAZOO, Mich.It takes brave actors to bare their souls and bodies on stage and an intelligent playwright to resist easy answers and assumptions to modern-day problems. It is that courage and perspicacity that makes The Cake at Farmers Alley Theatre a memorable production that is compelling and enjoyable.
Playwright Bekah Brunstetter rips the shows premise straightout of todays headlines. She mixes in a reality baking show, religious resistanceto LGBT+ relationships, and the refusal to bake a cake for a same-sex marriageinto a story that tackles difficult questions about love, intimacy, sex andtolerance.
While it might be easiest to keep the perspective on thelesbian couple who wants the cake, Brunstetters spotlight most often falls onDella, the owner of a North Carolina bakery who takes pride in following thedirections perfectly to create the best cakes.
Director D. Terry Williams leads his cast of four actors infinding the depth of each of their characters and putting the focus on therelationships each of them have with each other.
Zoe Vonder Haar makes Della a sympathetic character, even toan audience whose natural inclinations go against what she stands for and whofinds the things she does abhorrent. Haar conquers each of the demands thatthis show puts on her characterthe many monologues, the emotional swings, thecomplexities of her choices and the intensities of her relationships with eachof the other three characters.
Tia Pinsons Macy is first presented as the stereotypicalhipster with militantly progressive ideals that have no room for the people whodont march in step with them. However, Macys impatience with those who wouldinvalidate her or her way of life covers a vulnerability that Pinson carefullyreveals.
Molly Spiroff brings energy and enthusiasm to Jen, a youngwoman returning to her home in the South and the people she loves even thoughshe no longer fits among them. All the other characters have descriptors forJen and Spiroff manages to master each of them. She is sensitive, loving, andfull of life. She also has her own yearnings and things she wants to makeright, things that dont let her walk away easily from the world that wontaccept who she is now.
Spiroff and Pinson raise the stakes of the story by therelationship they portray. If love could be given a physical form andrepresentation on stage, it would look like what they do. They have thosespecial eyes only for each other, their connection smolders and they give theircharacters a deep commitment to each other that is able to withstand theconflict that they face.
It would be easy for Steve Isom to make Tim, Dellashusband, a redneck plumber who is oblivious to the struggles his wife hishaving. In fact, there are moments when Tim does seem to be out-of-step and simplecompared to the others on the stage, but that doesnt last for long and Isomensures that the audience is able to look at things through his eyes, if onlyfor a moment.
It is clear that Isom and Haar have worked together before, asthey convincingly portray a husband and wife couple who have faced challenginghardships together. They both show great courage and comedic timing inperforming what the script demands of themand in so doing, give the audiencehighly memorable moments.
Williams brought in Elizabeth Terrel as an intimacy directorto work with Spiroff and Pinson on safely and effectively portraying thephysical aspects of their relationship. It was an investment that paid off inthe intensity of their connection. Their relationship felt so natural andright, despite how the opponents of same-sex relationships would say they arethe opposite of those two adjectives, that the audience seemed to comfortablyaccept their physical intimacy.
What provoked nervous laughter and discomfort was the display of intimacy and sex between the older couple, perhaps because sex between older people is often portrayed only for comic effect and not show with the real challenges that The Cake explores.
What makes Dellas refusal to bake the cake a story that iscompelling and interesting is the love that she feels for Jen. This is not astranger she is rejecting, but someone whom she always figured she would bakefor. Jen is the daughter of her late best friend. She watched her grow up andthey stay in touch through emails and Facebook. They know each other well.
It is what keeps the show from being just a politicalshouting match or one that simply mocks a person for refusing to bake a cakefor a customer.
The cake becomes a metaphor that casts light on each of thecharacters and who they are. Della believes in the classic recipes, infollowing directions that have been passed down through the ages, just as shebelieves in using the Bible as an instruction book on life. Macy refuses toeven taste the cake, she wont give in to the slightest challenge to her diet,to her beliefs, to her ardent pursuit of what she believes to be right. Jenloves the cake and the joys and memories it brings her even when it casts shameinto her life that she doesnt know what to do with. Tim loves it because heloves his wife, but he isnt prepared for some of the ways it might challengehim.
All of these characters are fully flushed out with complexmotivations, which is what makes this play so very satisfying. And even thoughit deals with serious topics, it is often a comedy, one that brings the type oflaughter that signifies pure joy and the understanding and empathy of the crazysituations we back ourselves into by the beliefs we hold on to.
As always, Farmers Alley doesnt stint at the technicalstaff and all of them contribute to the delectable treat this show is. Propsdesigner Jody Badalamenti creates a wall full of gorgeous cakes, some fake,some real. Scenic designer Dan Guyette and scenic artist Alexa Wiljanen capturethe sugary sweetness of a bakery while providing quick and easy drop-out bedsto take the scenes to each of the couples bedrooms.
Kristen Chesaks lighting puts appropriate spotlights onDella, especially when she is fantasizing about the reality cooking show shehas been selected to appear on. She partners with sound designer Tony Mitchellto create a peek into Dellas mind and perhaps even how she views theauthorities that direct her life.
The Cake is more than just a fancy dessert that entertains and delights. It is a show that, like the special occasion cakes that mark peoples lives, attempts to bring people together and help them move toward a greater understanding.
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'The Cake' at Farmers Alley a powerful story ripped from the headlines and the SCOTUS docket - encoremichigan.com
