Where do our beliefs come from? Della believes that the secret to a good cake and a good life is simple: just follow the rules. When her best friend’s daughter asks her to make her wedding cake, she is overjoyed… until she learns that there will be not one bride, but two. Suddenly, Della is working without a recipe as her previously-unquestioned beliefs and emotions come into sharp conflict. Bekah Brunstetter’s The Cakecloses Pacific Theatre’s 2018-19 season with a sweet and thoughtful story of love, conflict, and delicious baked goods.
This is the Canadian premiere of The Cake, which was first staged in Los Angeles in 2017. Set in North Carolina, Brunstetter said the play reflects her conflicted feelings about living with one foot in the progressive world of coastal theatre and the other in her Southern hometown. “Della is very much a conglomeration of a lot of women that I’ve known and observed in my life,” she said. “I tried to imagine what it was like in her home and why she believed what she believed. And then I wanted to explore what happens when someone she loves deeply brings home a woman. Once that situation is in your world, you can’t push it aside.”
Director Angela Konrad will return to Pacific Theatre for The Cake after directing Outside Mullingar in 2017 and Ruined for Dark Glass Theatre in 2018. “I love everything about this play,” says Konrad. “I love that it pulls a story out of the headlines and embodies it on stage in front of us. I love the richly detailed characters who force us to look beyond assumptions and stereotypes. I love the magic realism that makes journeying into Della’s mind fantastic fun. I love the smart, sassy, and surprising humour. And I love the love! Brunstetter cares about these people and they care about each other. Like all good theatre, the play stimulates conversation and generates empathy. And I love that most of all.”
The Cake opens Friday, May 17th and runs until June 8th at Pacific Theatre.
PRAISE FOR THE CAKE
“A ninety-minute wonder spiked with moments of high hilarity and scenes that sear the heart.”
– Theatre Notes
“Explores human conflict from an insightful, slightly offbeat perch, without dumbing down or sentimentalizing its characters.”
– The Los Angeles Times
ARTISTIC TEAM
Directed by Angela Konrad. Featuring Erla Faye Forsyth, Stephanie Elgersma, Cecilly Day, and Tim Dixon. Lighting Design by Michael K. Hewitt. Set Design by Lauchlin Johnston. Costume Design by Kaitlin Williams. Props Design by Ariel Slack. Sound Design by Rick Colhoun. Stage Management by Julia Lank. Assistant Stage Management by Alexandria Bay.
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Media release provided by Julia Lank, Pacific Theatre. Images courtesy of Pacific Theatre.
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