Debra Messing (Will & Grace) returns to the stage as Ernestine Ashworth, who spends her 17th birthday agonizing over her insignificance in the universe.
Soon enough, it’s her 18th birthday. Even sooner, her 41st. Her 70th. Her 101st. Five generations, dozens of goldfish, an infinity of dreams, one cake baked over a century. What makes a lifetime…into a life?
A writer of "freewheeling ambition" (Charles Isherwood, The New York Times), Noah Haidle makes his Broadway debut with a poignant new play as fearless in scope as it is tremendous in heart.
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There might be life beyond the walls of Ernestine's expansive Grand Rapids, Michigan, kitchen, but Birthday Candles isn't interested in it. (Your first clue that Birthday Candles doesn't take place in the real world as we know it comes from Christine Jones' fantastical set: pots and pans, musical instruments, stuffed animals, and assorted bric-a-brac hanging from above-a lifetime of memories scattered across the sky like stardust.) Ernestine only grows older; she doesn't really grow.
There are times when director Vivienne Benesch's production, staged on a single setting from Christine Jones, does not fully exploit the epic, metaphysical sense of the writing; transitions are marked by annoying sound cues when we'd be fully aware of what transpires without them. Some moments are rushed, others too broad. But those really are minor quibbles in a truly must-see show that is fully successful when it comes to everything that really matters. Messing didn't pick some revival or obvious showcase for her comedic chops: she strives mightily and beautifully to find her way through a wise and sad drama, just like the character she plays.
2022 | Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Company Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Debra Messing |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | Birthday Candles |
2021 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Awards | Enrico Colantoni |
2021 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Awards | Crystal Finn |
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