Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is a delightfully enjoyable theatrical tale of two young people who come together by a twist of fate and learn that life doesn’t always work out the way it’s supposed to.
This musical has a New York vibe to it, and the city is portrayed in a very realistic way where dreams don’t always come true.
However, this is a musical, so not all of it is gritty realism. There’s much fun to be had watching our two lead characters being miserable due to circumstances beyond their control.
The best place to start with this performance is with the unique set design.
The musical has a set with suitcases lined up in a circle. Those suitcases often open up to reveal things that fit the needs of the characters and the featured storyline. It’s a simplistic way of bringing everything together as the scenes require objects to drive the plot forward.
Christiani Pitts is the lead actress, and she plays young dreamer Robin.
Robin yearns for happiness, and when she searches for words to text a guy in her life, Dougal (Sam Tutty) has the perfect response for her to be successful in that particular endeavor. Who, exactly, is Dougal, though?
Dougal is a young man who has flown to New York with dreams of seeing the Statue of Liberty and having a blast in the city with his limited cash flow. By a twist of fate, he meets Robin, who is holding a sign for someone to greet her at the airport. Robin turns out to be who he’s there to see, as his wealthy dad is engaged to someone very close to Robin.
It’s hard for Robin to write Dougal off. After all, a wedding is about to occur where the families of both characters are interconnected. So, the pair embark on a journey to get a cake for the upcoming event.
Robin and Dougal seem as different as can be, but their interaction proves they may have more in common than they originally think. Dougal has been neglected as a son by his dad, whereas Robin has struggled to maintain her integrity in the city.
While you may think this will all lead to a basic on-stage romance, it’s not that simple.
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is extremely emotional in certain scenes. Viewers will learn to love the characters because they are awkward and because they are imperfect, like many of us are in real life. This musical works best when it focuses on the dreams of our characters, who seem to rise to new heights with each and every challenge.
Yet they fail as much as they succeed where the bigger picture is concerned.
Sam Tutty is a revelation. He makes his character leap off the stage with the tremendous appeal he brings to Dougal. At one point, he reveals a tuxedo underneath his layman clothes, and it’s great to see Dougal get all pepped up with excitement at the thought of attending an event that could change his life for the better.
Pitts is in a category all her own as she makes Robin a flawed but lovable human being full of hope and some regret as well. Pitts brings a lot of depth to her emotions and plays off Tutty’s movements and mannerisms extraordinarily well.
To get an idea of how this show brings realism into it, the cake of the play’s title doesn’t really make it to where it needs to go in –pardon the pun — one piece.
This cake is more of a MacGuffin than anything else and brings our characters together without serving a larger purpose in the final analysis.
Why is the musical so emotional? We all have lost dreams that don’t come into fruition, and in a city like New York, dreams could, theoretically, come true, but they often don’t.
What our characters realize is that sometimes perfection comes from the imperfections in life that drive us mad, but bring us together. The musical will make audiences laugh and cry in equal doses. That’s because the wittiness of the characters is so prevalent and their hearts are full of a whole lot of joy and quite a bit of sorrow as well.
There is a chance you will want to meet other characters like Dougal’s dad, but he never shows up. Nor do any of the other characters our two stars talk about. That’s a good thing because by focusing on the opinions of the main characters, we get to draw our own conclusions as to who those people would appear.
As the play reaches its emotional conclusion, your heart will be broken and put back together again by the events of this musical.
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) will carry your emotions across a platform of humor and genuine heartbreak. And it will leave you in high spirits because dreams really do come true — just not in the way our dreams tell us they will.
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Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is now playing at the Longacre Theatre in New York City.
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Thomas Duffy
Thomas Duffy is a Critics Choice member who has written film reviews for most of his life, starting at age 11 when he crafted his first full length movie critique on the film, "Roxanne," a Cyrano story featuring Steve Martin. As a result of that review and other movie obsessive writing, Thomas was awarded a creative writing award in sixth grade. Thomas is the proud author of nine books, including two highly acclaimed novels, "To Never Know" and "Social Work." Thomas can be found on X (formerly known as Twitter) or at a New York City movie theater watching the latest hit or independent movie. You can also run into him at Tribeca or at the New York Film Festival.