BIRTHDAY CANDLES Previews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/17/22 at 12:00am

Move over, Bobbie; there’s another birthday girl in town.

Birthday Candles begins previews tomorrow night at the American Airlines Theatre, prior to an April 10 official opening. This new play is led by Debra Messing; rounding out the cast is Enrico Colantoni, John Earl Jelks, Crystal Finn, Susannah Flood, and Christopher Livingston. Birthday Candles is written by Noah Haidle in his Broadway debut and helmed by Vivienne Benesch in her Broadway directorial debut. The show will play a limited run, currently set to conclude on May 29.

“Debra Messing 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?”

Who’s making a wish?

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 3/17/22 at 2:18am

Seeing the third preview on Sunday. Thought I might skip this one, but then I heard that she's baking a cake live on stage and knew I absolutely had to be there! 

[Mark_E]

Posted: 3/17/22 at 9:47am

I will be there Saturday evening, second preview.

[_meow]

Posted: 3/17/22 at 11:34pm

Going to the third preview on Sunday too! 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/18/22 at 9:54am

Was excited to see this when it was first announced pre-pandemic but Debra Messing isn’t my cup of tea anymore.  So wish she’d STFU.  Really.  Luckily I can still watch WILL & GRACE with no discomfort.  

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 3/18/22 at 1:54pm

Seeing Birthday Candles in May- looking forward to the reviews here- please keep them coming. 

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/18/22 at 2:37pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Was excited to see this when it was first announced pre-pandemic but Debra Messing isn’t my cup of tea anymore. So wish she’d STFU. Really. Luckily I can still watch WILL & GRACE with no discomfort. "

What did she say?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 3/18/22 at 4:33pm

Not sure how well this is selling but tonight's first preview is up at TKTS for 50% off.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/18/22 at 6:57pm

n2nbaby said: "Man, it must suck being as bored as you are. Hopeful your “at least ten” new friends are keeping you company.

4 of us decided to go to tonight’s first preview.  Messing’s people DMed me on my IG and are leaving 4 house tickets to tonight’s first preview. Heading out now.  So last minute.  Hate this. Still not a fan of Messing but I ain’t passing on free tickets.  

 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/18/22 at 10:09pm

Any first impressions yet? The show began at 8 tonight, and Roundabout says the running time is 90 minutes, no intermission.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/18/22 at 10:10pm

Just saw the 1st preview.

So, I guess I should give the disclaiming: I LOVED Noah Haidle’s “Smokefall” from 2016. I just adored that play, and yet, I was the only one. Everyone else seemed to hate it. So…take the following with a grain of salt I guess??

These are the only 2 plays I’ve seen from Haidle, but I feel like he and I are just on the same emotional wavelength. Some people compared “Smokefall” to Thornton Wilder, and I can see those influences here too. 

As described, the play is a series of scenes taking place on the protagonist’s birthday over many many decades. There’s a particular focus on her grounding rituals and traditions. 

Haidle’s dialogue has a kind of heightened, semi-poetic quality, which is often delightful, and often quietly heartbreaking. Reminds me a bit of Sarah Ruhl in that way.

Still, I didn’t love the play the way I loved Smokefall. Some of the plot felt a little too predictable, which I guess is kind of the point? It’s the extraordinary in the ordinary. But at 100 minutes, you can only take so much ordinary before it just starts to feel like a normal family drama. 

But the play comes back around with a big emotional punch in the final act. There was quite a lot of sniffling throughout the house, and let’s just say the top of my mask got a bit damp as well. 

Like with Smokefall, I have no idea whether people will actually like this. Some might find it a bit too sentimental, too precious, or that it’s trying too hard to be quirky, or whatever. I get it - there were moments in the play where I felt that way. But overall, I like the stylistic flare, and I love this sort of ode to the passage of time, to the span of a human life. And I like that it wears its heart on its sleeve. 

The direction and performances are all solid, including Messing. But I think the play is the star here. 

Like I said, the play itself ran almost exactly 1h40, and with the traditional 5 minute late start, it got out at 9:45 on the dot. 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 3/18/22 at 10:20pm

Glad to hear you liked it! My question is how did the cake-baking go and what did they do with it? 

[akhoya87]

Posted: 3/18/22 at 10:46pm

Also saw this tonight - did not realize it was first preview.  (I had a last minute trip to NYC and grabbed a ticket last minute at rack rates -- show's gotta make money somehow.)

I started off not liking this - the dialogue at the beginning (intended to draw laughs) felt a little lazy and cheap.  Lines that appealed to a certain kind of humor, I guess - not my own (and I think for some of the lines, about half of the audience agreed).  

I liked it by the end, although I don't think it's the best play I've seen this season.  Predictably poignant, as one would expect out of a story about life and loss.  I thought the use of repeated dialogue to convey the transition of time was quite effective, although at times I felt like I was being hit over the head with it. 

Messing's performance was terrific - felt like opening night, not first preview.  John Earl Jelks took a little bit to warm up, but was devastatingly good by the end; if you see this, you'll know which scene I'm talking about.  Same with Susannah Flood - was a little cold as her opening character, but she was terrific in facing the demons of one of her later characters.  Veronica Mars's dad (sorry, Enrico Colantoni) was a delight to watch.

I wasn't a huge fan of the penultimate scene.  As JBroadway posted above, there's a focus on rituals and traditions - and I think some of that was lost in the penultimate scene.   

(Also enjoyed the awkward moment when people applauded for Susannah Flood - thinking she was Debra Messing; Flood is the first character to come out, and she had her back turned to the audience.  I was clapping for Flood - I liked her in For the People.)

Updated On: 3/18/22 at 10:46 PM

[akhoya87]

Posted: 3/18/22 at 10:47pm

jkcohen626 said: "Glad to hear you liked it! My question is how did the cake-baking go and what did they do with it?"

Without spoiling, I will say there is a cake sighting in the play.  It's rather ordinary.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/18/22 at 11:49pm

She bakes 1 cake slowly over the course of the play, and it’s meant to stand in for her annual ritual of baking a cake. It comes out of the oven (not sure if it was real, or just replaced with stage magic), but they never decorate it or eat it. I wouldn’t recommend seeing the play just for the cake. 
 

Regarding the penultimate scene: are you referring to 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

the death of the husband? or the one where she escapes from the nursing home? 

If you mean the former, I thought that was the emotional highlight of the play. If you mean the latter, I was thrown off by it at first, but I grew to enjoy it by the end of the scene. And I thought the way that scene addressed the topic of her rituals was actually really lovely. 

I too thought it was hilarious that the audience mistook Susannah Flood for Debra Messing. I had noticed beforehand that Susannah Flood was listed first in the program, in order of appearance. So I knew right away, but you could see why the audience made the mistake in the moment. 

[akhoya87]

Posted: 3/19/22 at 12:03am

JBroadway said: "She bakes 1 cake slowly over the course of the play, and it’s meant to stand in for her annual ritual of baking a cake. It comes out of the oven (not sure if it was real, or just replaced with stage magic), but they never decorate it or eat it. I wouldn’t recommend seeing the play just for the cake.


Regarding the penultimate scene: are you referring to

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

the death of the husband? or the one where she escapes from the nursing home?

If you mean the former, I thought that was the emotional highlight of the play. If you mean the latter, I was thrown off by it at first, but I grew to enjoy it by the end of the scene. And I thought the way that scene addressed the topic of her rituals was actually really lovely.

I too thought it was hilarious that the audience mistook Susannah Flood for Debra Messing. I had noticed beforehand that Susannah Flood was listed first in the program, in order of appearance. So I knew right away, but you could see why the audience made the mistake in the moment."

The latter scene.  The former scene was devastatingly good - having experienced something like it personally.  And the suddenness of it makes it even more effective.  There were things to like about the latter scene, but I thought it undermined the impact of what we just saw.  Just my $0.02.  (I don't know how to work the spoiler tags, so will keep this very very general.)

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 3/19/22 at 9:54am

Updated On: 3/19/22 at 09:54 AM

[orpheus4]

Posted: 3/19/22 at 10:41am

BrodyFosse123 said: "n2nbaby said: "Man, it must suck being as bored as you are. Hopeful your “at least ten” new friends are keeping you company.

4 of us decided to go to tonight’s first preview. Messing’s people DMed me on my IG and are leaving 4 house tickets to tonight’s first preview. Heading out now. So last minute. Hate this. Still not a fan of Messing but I ain’t passing on free tickets.

"

I want to know more about this lol If they’re giving away tickets, I’d be happy to take a few off their hands.

[Mark_E]

Posted: 3/19/22 at 10:29pm

I really enjoyed this tonight. Lots of laughs throughout but also many touching moments. 

If I had one criticism, it would be the penultimate scene as has been mentioned above. It seemed to go on for quite a while and it was almost like the playwright didn't know how to wrap it up. 

That said, I would highly recommend. Messing was really strong as were the rest of the cast.

[InTheBathroom1]

Posted: 3/19/22 at 10:34pm

I quite liked this too, not the best thing I’ve ever seen, but thought it was entertaining and charming. It became a little predictable at points and I share the sentiments about some of the late scenes, but I think they can work through it in previews. 
 

The cast was strong across the board but I thought Debra Messing was just stunning here. Watching her go from 17 to 101 and the subtle shifts in her physicality and voice through each shift was quite remarkable to me. The later scenes when she is 60+, Messing really shines. 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 3/19/22 at 10:43pm

I saw this tonight as well and the few criticisms I have are barely worth mentioning. It’s a really lovely play and I agree Messing is giving a STUNNING performance here. Don’t miss this one.

[jbird5]

Posted: 3/20/22 at 4:04pm

Looks like they fixed the issue with the entrance.  She now comes on at the start.  House was surprisingly full Saturday night.  The time shifting reminded me of Plano.  Also, Flood and Finn played sisters in that show.  Livingston is a find - he was terrific in Something Clean at Roundabout Underground. It was an enjoyable night at the theater after the dreary Passover, the meh Letters of Suresh and the weird Shhh.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 3/20/22 at 5:18pm

What is the blocking/staging like for this? Would love to snag a cheap seat (aka box seat or rear seats) but want to make sure I miss as little as possible.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/20/22 at 6:57pm

jbird5 said: "Looks like they fixed the issue with the entrance. She now comes on at the start.”

 

That’s hilarious! One of the stranger instances of blocking having to be changed.

The supporting actor looks a LITTLE bit too much like the famous lead, so they change the blocking to avoid making the audience accidentally applaud the wrong actor.

That’s Broadway, folks! 

 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/20/22 at 7:18pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "What is the blocking/staging like for this? Would love to snag a cheap seat (aka box seat or rear seats) but want to make sure I miss as little as possible."

 

I didn’t sit in a side seat so I can’t speak to how the view was, but I can tell you a few things: 

I sat in the box seats for “The Real Thing” and the view was noticeably restricted. But this play’s staging is fairly shallow, so it might be better. The cake-baking happens slightly upstage on the house-right side - so it might be safer to sit far house left than house right? There’s some business with the stage-right door that you might miss, but better to miss that than the kitchen stuff. 

Better to pick a rear seat though, IMO. The American Airlines is one of the more intimate theatres on Broadway. I’ve sat in the rear mezzanine many times and it’s always been fine.