VIDEO: First Look at CincyPlay’s BIRTHDAY CANDLES
Noah Haidle’s time-spanning play captures 90 years of birthdays in one woman’s extraordinary ordinary life.
By: Joshua Wright Apr. 30, 2025
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park presents BIRTHDAY CANDLES, starring a woman aging from 17 to 107—all while baking the same birthday cake each year. Check out the video for a glimpse into this deeply human story of aging, ritual, and connection.
Birthday Candles is now playing at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s Rosenthal Shelterhouse Theatre from April 19 through May 18, 2025. Written by Noah Haidle and directed by Joanie Schultz, the play is presented by The Markley Family.
Birthday Candles follows Ernestine as she marks her birthday each year, baking the same cake while reflecting on a lifetime of experiences. From age 17 to 107, audiences witness Ernestine’s evolution and the relationships that define her journey—across love, loss, motherhood, and meaning.
Performed without intermission, the production offers a poignant and poetic exploration of time and memory, where the ordinary becomes extraordinary with each passing year.
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