Review: CAKE EATERS at The Welders

The title of Rebecca Dzida’s play  “Cake Eaters” of course borrows from the “Let them eat cake” phrase that originates from before the French Revolution and was often attributed to Marie Antoinette.  And in that tradition, her new work, produced by the playwrights collective The Welders at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts,  involves an ambitious princess in a repressive kingdom, an organized militant opposition and the simple people in between.

It begins, however, in a scene resembling a DMV, where citizens waited for their number to be called before attending their business, which in this case was getting a work visa. While waiting, the unassuming Rex (John Jones) is confronted by an overly exuberant 21-year-old with the mental capacity of an 8 year old who wants his attention and help. She’s also been given a button for the opposition faction — something that could get her in trouble with the authoritarian overlords, so he takes the blame. 

After thus proving his character, we learn that the helpless youth is in fact the princess Ayaz (Caleigh Riordan Davis) presenting an elaborate ruse. 

It’s the first twist in what turns out to be many of them in a work where the intriguing premise is that political theater may well be just theater — and how the ruse of pretending and fakery can determine the course of a country. 

Despite all the reports of authoritarianism and radical overthrow in the daily news, there’s not that much in “Cake Eaters,” as directed by Seth Rosenke, that directly reflects on America’s current political moment, surprisingly  (Dzida says she began working on the play a decade ago). Instead, it stays solidly in its fantasy realm.

And relying on another old adage, “the play’s the thing,” helps audiences adapt to a work that is, in its humble presentation, only just a show put on way down in the basement of the Georgetown  church, with a handful of actors and not a lot of props, on a stage that’s not very big.  

Jones, in his role, keeps his skepticism and wariness front and center. As the head of a household that includes a young sister (Charlotte Kim) and an elderly grandmother (Alex Aspiazu), he may have to base his choice on what’s best for them. But he doesn’t give away which side he’ll fall on — annoying both the revolutionaries (Philippos Sourvinos and Tristin Evans) and the princess and her overly aggressive guards (Kim and Aspiazu). 

Davis is appealing as Ayaz, the 12th in line to the throne, and Marley Kabin, as her hard-partying sister, the 11th in line, adds some welcome verve to the proceedings. 

There’s a bit of a turn in tone toward the end when things get suddenly very violent. Teeth are pulled in acts of bloody torture, arms are broken, guns fire. Fight director Bess Kaye has her work cut out for her. 

In the end, are things better whoever is on top? Maybe it’s all just stage setting for the next upheaval of events.

For the fable it’s presenting, “Cake Eaters” may be a little too long at two hours. Tightening it may sharpen things. Aside from the gowns the princess sisters get to wear, there isn’t much to say about the costuming by McKenna Kelly, except that the bluebonnet-colored military suits with silver piping notably strange. 

And as for the stark set Rooster Sultan, when a keypad lock meant to stave off insurrection fell from the wall in a recent matinee, it was the kind of misstep that could have cost the realm. 

Running time: Two hours with one 15 minute intermission. 

Photo credit: Caleigh Riordan Davis and John Jones in “Cake Eaters.” Photo by Camilo Linares at Ezo Studios.