The Geffen, under its new artistic director Matt Shakman, is one of the few major theaters in L.A. to pay attention to the excellent work being done in the smaller theatres in town. In a departure from its previous policy of presenting only plays which had been successful in New York or Chicago, the Geffen has invited the Echo Theater Company to remount its 2017 hit, The Cake, in its Skirball Kenis space. The play, written by Bekah Brunstetter and directed by Jennifer Chambers (director of the Echo’s playwright’s lab), was inspired by the Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case. Brunstetter has altered the particulars in some significant ways. Now the setting is in Winston-Salem, NC and the people in question are female not male. But the key conflict is still the same: a cakeshop owner refusing to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, because of religious scruples. Della, the cake-maker, is played by Debra Jo Rupp, a highly skilled comic actress. She humanizes the bible-spouting, deeply-conservative Della, avoiding the temptation of making her a villain. What also makes her sympathetic is her genuine love for Jen (Shannon Lucio), one of the two lesbians who have asked her to bake a cake. Jen, we learn, grew up in Winston-Salem and was a regular visitor to Della’s shop (gaudy design by Pete Hickok). Jen’s late mother was also a good friend of Della’s. Thus, we feel Della’s deep pain when she is obliged to turn Jen down, out of a fear of disobeying God’s word. Brunstetter also paints a three-dimensional portrait of Jen and her partner Macy (Carolyn Ratteray), giving Jen some doubts about not just her own sexuality but the wisdom of marrying an African-American in a society riven by racial hatred and conflict. As for Macy, she too has some fears for the future. Is Jen truly a part of her gay world? And why the hell is she insisting on being married down here, in the depths of the bible belt—and spending thirty thousand dollars on the ceremony to boot? She realizes that Jen is only obeying her mother’s last wish, but still in all, that kind of money could give them a good start in life. These personal and political issues are dealt with in a serious way, but The Cake is much more of a comedy than a drama, thanks largely to Rupp’s charismatic, magical performance. Surrounded in her shop by the cakes she has baked, luscious, mouth-watering creations that are works of art, she blithely expounds on the glories of butter, sugar, flour and frosting. She also takes pleasure in being one of the finalists on TV’s “Great American Baking Show,” flashes of which interrupt the story in brief, neon-lit satirical bursts (with voiceovers by Morrison Keddie). Della’s relationship to her hulking husband Tim (Rod McLachlan), a hard-working but impotent plumber, is also handled by Brunstetter in skillful comedic (and touching) fashion. The Cake comes to the Geffen with most of its original cast intact, which accounts for its polished, assured performances.
