“I wish for you so many beautiful hours.”
At the beginning of City Theatre’s production of “Birthday Candles” — and on protagonist Ernestine Ashworth’s 17th birthday — this is the wish that her mother gives to her, as they bake a birthday cake together. For the next 90 minutes — but also for the next 80-some years — Ernestine bakes this same cake over and over again, never leaving the stage and living an entire life.
At Sunday’s matinee performance, it was the audience’s good fortune to witness all of those beautiful hours, both bitter and sweet.
“Birthday Candles” was written by playwright Noah Haidle, a commission from the Detroit Public Theatre that premiered in 2018. The show made its way to Broadway in 2022, where it was headlined by “Will & Grace” star Debra Messing. This production was directed masterfully by Marc Masterson, with assistant director J. Cody Spellman.
The very circular production revolves around Ernestine as she moves swiftly through the years, each march forward marked by a single ringing musical note and a flash of overheard light. Young Ernestine is defiant and headstrong, anxious about finding her place in the universe but also certain that she will “surprise God.”
As she ages, she experiences many joys and surprises of her own, but also suffers bewilderments, betrayals and heartbreaking losses, starting with the death of her mother between her 17th and 18th birthdays. At 18, she bakes her traditional birthday cake alone for the first time but is also gifted a golfdfish by her neighbor, Kenneth. The fish is named “Atman,” from a Sanskrit word defining the true, eternal self within each of us. Atman — and 102 more versions of him — join the audience in witnessing what follows.
Ernestine finds love, has a family, loses many of the people most important to her and strikes out on her own, but every year without fail, she stops on her birthday to make that cake.
There are only six actors in this production, but many play dual and triple roles, many of them quite intentionally chosen. For example, Saige Smith brings hilarious, frazzled and relatably human manic energy to Joan, Ernestine’s daughter-in-law, but also to Joan’s daughter, Alex. Andrew William Smith portrays Ernestine’s first husband, Matt, believably through the full range of human experiences and all the way from spry, lovesick teenager to ailing septuagenarian, but he also plays Ernestine and Matt’s great-grandson, William, after Matt’s passing, bringing the whole play full circle.
Another of those circular moments is the trio of characters played by Deena Aziz. She plays Ernestine’s mother, Alice; Ernestine’s daughter, Madeline; and Ernestine’s great-granddaughter, who bears her name. Aziz is a standout in all three roles, but her turn as Madeline is especially heartbreaking.
José Pérez IV also doubles as William, Ernestine and Matt’s son, and a character I won’t reveal too much about since he only pops up in the play’s final moments. At times, it can be difficult to identify the ages of these characters, since there’s very little external change outside of costumes, but he does a particularly great job at portraying William as he ages.
Gavin Lawrence, as Kenneth, the neighbor who brings Ernestine her goldfish and waits with “heroic patience” for her to realize that she is in love with him, is the tender heart of the play. He is joyful and expressive, bringing a lot of physicality to his performance.
Then there is Robin Walsh as Ernestine, who exudes a sunny light in even her character’s darkest scenes and somehow manages to embody every age flawlessly — with no change in costume or styling, she is believably 17, 35, 50, 70, 88 and 100.
This play is presented with an unusual setup with City Theatre, with the audience on three sides and a circular turntable stage that contains the play’s lone set, the same kitchen throughout. Scenic designer Sasha Jin Schwartz truly made that kitchen setup feel like home — so much so that I recognized one of the cabinets as one I have in my own basement kitchen. Sound designer Darron L. West provides a few bits of metaphysical shorthand; yes, the ringing note when we move to a new birthday, but also a somewhat foreboding chime when a character exits for the final time.
The true star of the technical show is the lighting, designed by Xuewei (Eva) Hu. As the years progress, the lighting moods change depending on what’s happening; during particularly lonely or sad birthdays, the colors are cooler and dimmer, while it’s warm and bright during happier times.
Damian E. Dominguez’s costume design is also vital, denoting the changes in characters and ages. From school uniforms to quirky suspenders to suits and cardigans, seeing the six actors swap out their duds helps the audience understand who’s who and where they are in time.
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“Birthday Candles” is something of an existential crisis, if you allow yourself to be given over to its more sentimental side — there is lots of grandiose discussion of the cosmos, the universe, the truer self outside of time, and so on. But there’s also a simplicity and familiarity to the play’s family rituals that hits perfectly home.
“Birthday Candles” will run at City Theatre on the South Side through March 30. To get tickets, visit citytheatre.org.