‘TWO STRANGERS’: Christiani Pitts & Sam Tutty. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

TWO STRANGERS (CARRY A CAKE ACROSS NEW YORK)
Book, music & lyrics by Jim Barne & Kit Buchan
Directed & choreographed by Tim Jackson
Through July 5, 2026
Longacre Theatre
220 West 48th Street
https://twostrangersmusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York ) is a rare gem indeed. It’s an original “rom com” Broadway musical that’s realistic, poignant, and never sappy or corny. After a successful run in London’s West End, the two-hander has opened in New York. Let’s look at why it works so well.

Unlikely match

The entire story takes place over a 36-hour time period. Dougal (Sam Tutty) is a bright-eyed, naïve British tourist who has traveled to New York and the USA for the first time to attend his father’s second wedding.

He soon learns that life here is nothing like the Hollywood depiction of our city as portrayed by Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds in Singin’ in the Rain. By the same token, it’s also not exactly Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra pursuing Vera-Ellen and Betty Garrett in On the Town. Dougal says he especially loves Home Alone 2 and believes that in New York “everything comes with a smile, a high five, and a slice of cheese.”

However, even if New York was actually like anything in those classic films, Dougal is so broke that he can’t afford the entrance fees to most tourist attractions, let alone a proper date with a woman.

Robin (Christiani Pitts) is the baby sister of the bride Dougal’s father is marrying. A spunky, no-nonsense New Yorker, she works as a barista and wastes no time giving the cold shoulder to Dougal both at JFK Airport and later at Bump and Grind, the café where she works.  She tells him she needs to take the subway out to Flatbush, Brooklyn, to pick up her sister’s wedding cake, and Dougal insists on going with her.

Carrying the cake across New York

Dougal soon learns that Flatbush isn’t just where the wedding cake is being created. It’s also the part of Brooklyn where Robin grew up, reminiscing to him about her childhood there and regaling him with nostalgic stories of her youth.

What makes everything work is the dynamic chemistry between Mr. Tutty and Ms. Pitts. On the stage, they seem like an odd couple indeed, but sparks ignite slowly and not in a hackneyed way like so many rom-coms.

Nevertheless, although Two Strangers has all the formulaic elements of a standard romantic comedy—a guy pursuing a girl and the girl isn’t immediately interested—this show isn’t like some half-baked Hallmark movie or schmaltzy Harlequin romance novel. Composer Jim Barne’s lush melodies and Kit Buchan’s true-to-life dialogue and emotionally powerful lyrics are full of realism and grit. One may have to suspend disbelief that Dougal and Robin would fall for each other in just 36 hours, but just go with the story. Everything simply works beautifully.

Innovative scenic, sound design & lighting

Soutra Gilmour’s unique, simplistic set, great lighting by Jack Knowles, and Tony Gayle’s sharp sound design also make Two Strangers especially innovative. The set features two rotating heaps of airline luggage that are designed to resemble the Manhattan skyline. The luggage piles also serve multiple functions, including a place for the actors to climb on or sit.

Ms. Gilmour’s costumes are also delightful, especially the glamorous dresses Robin wears in Act Two.

Dynamic duo

Turning to performances, the two young leads are perhaps the show’s greatest asset. Together, Ms. Pitts and Mr. Tutty are a brilliant “misfit” couple, as unlikely as Satine and Christian in Moulin Rouge or Sandy and Danny in Grease. Ms. Pitts portrays Robin with the perfect arc of the character, starting out as a jaded, overworked, and cynical woman who eventually sheds her hard shell and opens up to Dougal. Mr. Tutty brings the right mix of guileless charm and sincerity to Dougal, a young lad who at first seems annoying but ultimately shows he has a big heart. The duo are pure magic together singing such songs as “On the App” and “New York/What’ll It Be.”

With seamless direction by Tim Jackson, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) shines throughout. The haunting score and strong book by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan help make the show a “sleeper” surprise delight and one of the year’s best musicals.

Published November 20, 2025
Reviewed at press preview on November 15, 2025

‘TWO STRANGERS’: Christiani Pitts & Sam Tutty. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘TWO STRANGERS’: Christiani Pitts & Sam Tutty. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘TWO STRANGERS’: Christiani Pitts & Sam Tutty. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘TWO STRANGERS’: Christiani Pitts & Sam Tutty (top left & bottom); (top right) Sam Tutty. Photos: Matthew Murphy.

‘TWO STRANGERS’: Sam Tutty & Christiani Pitts (top left & bottom); (top right) Christiani Pitts. Photos: Matthew Murphy.

The post ‘Two Strangers’ one of 2025’s best musicals appeared first on StageZine.

‘A BRONX TALE’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

A BRONX TALE
Book by Chazz Palminteri
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Glenn Slater
Directed by Robert DeNiro & Jerry Zaks
Choreographed by Sergio Trujillo
Longacre Theatre
220 West 48th Street
(212-239-6200), www.abronxtalethemusical.com

By David NouNou

I can honestly say A Bronx Tale is the first truly, thoroughly enjoyable show of the 2016 fall season and we are very close to the end of it. That should give you an idea of how exciting this fall season has been. This is not to undermine the show but to totally praise it. Who else could have written the book as well as Chazz Palminteri? After all, it is about his life and who should know it better? The music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater capture the mood, feel, and essence of the 1960s doo-wop and rock-and-roll sound to perfection. It distills the 1960s and transports us to the Bronx, Belmont Avenue and an Italian neighborhood where there was right from wrong and rules were still obeyed.

In 1960 young Calogero (Hudson Loverro) witnesses Sonny (Nick Cordero) kill a guy outside his building, but in a lineup, he refuses to rat Sonny out. A trust and bond develops between Calogero and Sonny; this undermines the bond Calogero has with his father, Lorenzo (Richard H. Blake). Lorenzo knows his son has talent and doesn’t want to see him waste it. Come 1968, Calogero (Bobby Conte Thornton) is grownup, almost a wastrel, and still is torn between his father’s values and Sonny’s flash. Thrown into the mix is Jane (the lovely Ariana DeBose) who is black and lives on Webster Avenue and the two inevitably fall for each other —which does not sit well with the two neighborhoods because races did not mix even if you lived in the same community. Each few blocks were an entity unto themselves.

Sure, the story seems familiar, but it is done in a fresh way, and that fresh thing is sincerity. There is a story here and it tells it from the heart with no artificial fillers. Robert DeNiro and Jerry Zaks have taken the story and directed it without any frills, just fine-tuned it to let the tale unfold in the most simplistic and realistic of ways.

The standout performance is Nick Cordero; he was a showstopper and Tony nominee in Bullets Over Broadway, the only good thing in that dreadful musical. He is sensational here as Sonny the gangster. It is a thrill to watch this man dominate and command a stage and watch his talent grow with each succeeding show. Richard H. Blake is admirable as Lorenzo. As the young Calogero, Hudson Loverro is an adorable child actor doing his job well without being cloying. Ariana DeBose—who just left Hamilton—as Jane is a joy to see and hear. Bobby Conte Thornton has a nice voice and tries to be sincere but lacks the stage presence to bring any dimension to the older Calogero; the role calls for a more seasoned actor to dominate the stage.

The show is a tribute to another time. It brings back to life a moving, stirring, delectable Americana morsel that preserves a period, time, place, sound, and people that is part of American history now.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 8, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on December 7, 2016

‘A BRONX TALE’: Nick Cordero & Richard H. Blake. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: (left to right) Rory Max Kaplan, Keith White, Dominic Nolfi, Joe Barbara, Hudson Loverro, Cary Tedder. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: Bobby Conte Thornton & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: Arianna DeBose (center) & Gilbert L. Bailey II & Bradley Gibson, Trista Dollison & Christiani Pitts (L-R). Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: (left to right) Hudson Loverro, Richard H. Blake, Lucia Giannetta. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: (left to right) Trista Dollison, Ariana DeBose & Christiani Pitts. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: Nick Cordero & Hudson Loverro. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: Hudson Loverro & Richard H. Blake. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: Bobby Conte Thornton & Nick Cordero. Photo: Joan Marcus

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