(Be sure to check out the Noah’s Ark cake on the set as you walk in; kudos to props Michelle Raymond. All the cake props are lovely - and the set morphs neatly from bake shop to bedroom - Kirk Domer)
Macy, a young African American woman comes into the shop and seems to “interview” Delia from the sugar-is-evil contingent. Turns out this woman is the fiancée of Delia's unofficial god daughter, Jen. Will Delia bake their wedding cake?
In an entertaining mix of humor and soul-searching, various world-views and prejudices collide and combine. Alexandra Taylor is strong and “sensible” as Macy (but you WANT her to eat that cake!) Katie Terpstra is a wonderful conglomerate bridging two worlds as Jen. Alex Leydenfrost is excellent as Delia’s probably redeemable husband, Tim. Tobin Hissong is the alluring George, voice of the Baking Show.
Bekah Brunstetter’s script is a hopeful one for our times. It humanizes unconscious bigotry and explores different faces of shame and “how I was raised”— celebrating the opening of minds that comes when you know one of “them” personally.
A version of these I Corinthians 13 Bible verses is written around the edge of the stage, framing the story. "Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”
This is my favorite type of show, funny and entertaining but also makes you think. (The food-enhanced “sex scenes” are a hoot.)
The Cake continues through April 24. Tickets and info at https://www.williamstontheatre.org