'Birthday Candles': Debra Messing a delight

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Christopher Livingston & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

BIRTHDAY CANDLES
Written by Noah Haidle
Directed by Vivienne Benesch
Through May 29, 2022
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
 (212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

Birthday Candles has so much going on and simultaneously not much is happening. We first get to see Ernestine Ashworth (Debra Messing) at the age of 17 making her first birthday cake as per her mother’s instructions, where the ingredients—floor, sugar, butter and salt—are of the utmost importance, and continues to bake them for the next 90 years of her life. This lengthy time span all takes place in 90 minutes.

At 17, Ernestine is pursued by the nerdy Kenneth (Enrico Colantoni) whose wish is to take her to the prom, but instead she goes to the prom and eventually marries the slick Matt (John Earl Jelks). They have a son Billy (Brandon J. Pierce) and a daughter, Madeline (Susannah Flood) and thus the begetting unfolds where grandchildren and great grandchildren come into the scene.

After 35 years of marriage, infidelity creeps into their marriage and Ernestine separates from Matt. Ultimately, Ernestine does find the true love of her life. I don’t want to give more plot information, but Ernestine gets to live beyond her 100^th birthday.

All the action takes place in the same kitchen throughout the years: the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, life and death. Ernestine not only lives a full life but ultimately a fulfilling life with hazards along the way. Things that I would say we all go through in some form or another throughout our lives.

Mr. Haidle has written this lovely piece about a person’s life that in good times life breezes past in an instant and in bad times, it can seem interminable. The intentions here are great, but in the theatre, scenes need to be fleshed out to make sense and not just jump from scene to scene at the sound of a bell. The problem here is the life that is talked about is just skimmed through and not fully realized. So much can happen in a lifetime but upon looking back, one’s life seems to have occurred in a flash. Life can go so fast.

Ms. Messing is a delight from start to finish. It is not easy to go from 17 to 107 and never leaving the stage to make any changes in her appearance. Her changes are made through her hairstyle, posture and voice. She does command the stage throughout.

Enrico Colantoni is excellent and heartbreaking as the ardent pursuer from the nerdy annoying teen to the patient, lovable old man.

As an older person, I can appreciate the fact of the speed of time, and how fast the decades fly; if only Mr. Haidle or any of us can find a way to make the good times in life move slower and last longer and be more meaningful.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 14, 2022
Reviewed at April 13, 2022 press performance.