Cakewalk - Written by Colleen Curran.
Directed by David J. Miller. Scenic Design by David Miller; Lighting Design by Michael Clark Wonson; Sound Design by J. Jumbelic; Costume
Design by Jess Huang. Presented by Zeitgeist Stage Company at the Plaza Black
Box Theatre, Boston
Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St., Boston
through March 19.
The
descriptive phrase “light and fluffy” is not one that most people would
associate with Zeitgeist Stage Company and director David Miller, but with the Cakewalk, the company takes on a
straight comedy and delivers an entertaining production – with nary a social
message in sight. Zeitgeist and Miller have been responsible for some of the
most powerful productions in local theater in recent years, including the
brilliantly brutal Punk Rock in 2013,
last year’s Bent (which won the IRNE
Award for Best Play and Best Director – Fringe) and this past fall’s Boys in the Band. But with ‘Cakewalk’, a
lighthearted comedy about a small town cake baking contest, Zeitgeist allows us
to walk out of the theater with a smile rather than an emotionally challenged
psyche.
Cakewalk
is essentially an edgier version of Prairie
Home Companion with a rural Vermont town
standing in for Lake
Woebegon and its
denizens. It’s the Fourth of July, 1984 and in addition to the parade and pet
costume contest, there’s the annual Cakewalk, where contestants vie for a trip
to Paris,
awarded to the baker with the most appealing confection. The entire play is set
in the kitchen of quaint country inn, where contestants eagerly wait for the
judging to begin while exchanging the weirdness of small town living.
There’s
Sister Vivien Leigh Cleary,
a nun questioning her dedication to the convent life; Martha, her best friend
and operator of the Heaven On Earth organic café, who set the local
gossip mill atwitter by living with her husband before getting married; Ruby
Abel, an overzealous den mother fueled by a lifetime of regret that will do
anything to win; Taylor Abbott, the directionally challenged archeologist; and
Augusta Connors Hancock, a wealthy matron who decides to finally “do something
for herself” by unfathomably entering her daughter Tiffany’s wedding cake in
the contest – which may not be such a bad idea, given that Tiffany hasn’t a
clue as to why she’s getting married – or much else for that matter.
There
is some clever writing in Curran’s work (“some have pettiness thrust upon them”),
and there are lots of adroit tricks with names (all of the women in Ruby’s
family are named after gems – which they clearly are not) that provide
unexpected laughs. The performances are generally very good, anchored by the
angelic Victoria George as
the conflicted nun and a very funny turn by Matt Fagerberg as the addled
archeologist. Aina Adler gives a heartfelt performance as the counter-culture
restaurant owner (who may have more than a cake in the oven), and her barbed
exchanges with the deranged Ruby are the basis for any semblance of dramatic
tension in this comedy.
As
Ruby, Kelley Estes takes her character from a mere annoying shrew to someone
who is borderline clinically disturbed – to great comic effect. Ruby’s lifetime
of disappointments (which we learn about in a monologue, complete with
pantomimed baton twirling) has transformed her from what would have normally
been a neighborhood busybody to someone who looks like they’ll eventually end
up as a headshaking story on the six o’clock news. Maureen Adduci and Ashley
Risteen are effective as the self-centered mother and daughter team who bicker
over the appropriate role of the wedding cake in their respective lives.
In
the end, ‘Cakewalk’ is a cute little charmer, but those hoping for a little
more grit from Zeitgeist will have to wait until the spring for A Great Wilderness – the gay conversion therapy drama from
Samuel Hunter, who gave us the The Whale
(of which Speakeasy Stage produced a compelling production
in 2014). For more info, go to: http://www.zeitgeiststage.com/index.html
