This musical about cake – amongst other things – has a lot of filling. Clocking in with a runtime of around 2 hours and 30 minutes, the confectionary transportation referred to in the show’s title is, in fact, a minuscule plot point in a much wider sitcom about fractured family relationships. The problem lies in staging this multi-character story as a two-hander (starring Dear Evan Hansen’s Sam Tutty and Hamilton’s Dujonna Gift). We really could have done with hearing from the source of these two strangers’ conflicts – if only to solicit some stronger character development – rather than being handed multiple servings of heavy exposition with one-sided phone calls and hastily written letters.
Tutty plays annoyingly excitable Brit, Dougal, who’s rocked up in New York to attend the wedding of a Dad whom he’s never met and with whom he’s never really had much of a relationship. Greeting him in the Big Apple is Robin, an unhappy and disillusioned American who’s the younger sister of bride Melissa, with whom she also doesn’t have the smoothest of relations. They’re complete opposites, but the ‘rom’ in this self-described ‘romcom’ isn’t even shown on stage. Also, that would be weird – Dougal refers to his American counterpart as ‘Auntie Robin’ on multiple occasions, for God’s sake, much to the latter’s frustration.
And hey, we can see the likely character arcs from a mile away – or rather, 4,000 miles away. Dougal will no doubt succeed in bringing a disgruntled Robin out of her shell, while the naïve Brit will, hopefully, be humbled to the extent that he doesn’t lump in pop culture references into conversation at every available opportunity.
In fairness to writers Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, they manage to bring out a lot of humour from Robin constantly reigning in Dougal (though some dialogue feels abrupt and underdeveloped, such as when Robin calls him out over cultural insensitivities, and asks how many Black people he knows. And while I couldn’t quite connect with a young man who’s bubbly to the point of offence (making a string of mocking comments about Robin’s waitressing, without the necessary emphasis to convey it’s a joke, and then unconvincingly stating he doesn’t intend to upset), Tutty does bring an impressive and amusing energy to the Dougal, similar to his fast-talking, bag of nerves portrayal of Evan Hansen when that was on the West End.
Equally remarkable is the way in which the numbers reflect the characters singing them. Dougal is afforded bouncy, triplet-style rhythms like those in the idealistic “New York!” while Robin has more pounding ballads to her name (on which Gift triumphs), like “What’ll It Be”. I could have sworn that the musical’s opening overture uses a piano melody of which the opening notes are the two-tone ‘bing bong’ heard on an aeroplane tannoy, and if so, then it’s an incredible detail.
I noticed, too, that when it comes to carrying the cake, it’s the extroverted Brit who picks up the bigger boxes. There’s plenty of finer artistic decisions from director Tim Jackson which are great fun to interpret and think about, when the broader, overarching narrative isn’t quite clear cut – if you’ll pardon the pun. On the end of the scale, Soutra Gilmour’s set design of countless suitcases is as inventive as it is practical, revealing several surprise compartments as the musical progresses.
It’s just about enough to keep me interested as I wonder exactly how many character subplots will be resolved by the end of the show. Even before that, at the interval, there was a sense about 10 minutes before the intermission that it was going on too long. Act One concludes with the wedding still yet to take place, and “American Express” seemingly rounding off the ‘Robin is unhappy’ arc by involving good ol’ capitalism and having her splash the cash on Dougal’s Dad’s credit card.
It’s not exactly the most satisfying resolution, and the character was already done a disservice in a previous scene when Dougal begins to break down Robin’s tough exterior and bond with her. How does he do it? By calmly (yes, it’s incredibly out of character for him) advising her on Tinder matches. If her unhappiness isn’t resolved by consuming copious amounts of alcohol on a night out with Dougal, then it’s her placing all her faith in match Justin being the man for her (he isn’t, as the fact this is a two-hander somewhat suggests).
We invest time in Robin hopefully getting on well with Justin, only for that subplot to be abandoned pretty quickly. Barne and Buchan’s plot is just as dismissive around Dougal’s daddy issues (this concerns the aforementioned letter), to the extent you have to wonder what exactly is the satisfying payoff audiences are being offered here, when we engage in premises which never come to fruition.
How will both characters have been changed or affected by the conflict with which they have been presented? Well, Dougal only seems to calm down when he’s hungover, so his demeanour is almost completely unchanged. Will Dougal’s rose-tinted glasses view of New York and the American dream eventually be shattered by Robin barely making rent as a coffee waitress? I mean, “If I Believed” is a number which sees him wonder if his trip to the States is all just a dream. Thankfully, it isn’t, and the story doesn’t go as far as to discredit itself entirely in this particular number by pulling out a storytelling faux pas.
Many audience members will no doubt be drawn to Tutty’s casting in this musical (the West End transfer also comes after an acclaimed run at the Kiln last year), as well as the sweet and wacky humour, but unfortunately, it does feel like a drawn out story, with a considerable amount of inconsequential padding and unfinished character development.
★★
Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) is now playing at the Criterion Theatre until 31 August.
Relaxed and audio described performances are scheduled for 11 and 18 May respectively, while the show will come with British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation and captions on 2 and 15 June respectively.
Production Images: Tristram Kenton.
Disclaimer: I was invited to watch ‘Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York)’ for free in exchange for a review of the performance as a member of the press. I did not receive payment for this article and all opinions stated above are honest and my own.
Liam O'Dell 