Is it too great a pun to say that Debra Messing is incandescent in Birthday Candles? She is, by turns, an adorable teenager, a loving mother, a devoted sweetheart, a deceived wife…and then, the circle begins again. Because this play is a circle of our lives, and if it isn’t exactly what we’ve personally experienced, it’s close enough. Laughs and tears are in close proximity.
It all takes place in the green and blue kitchen of Ernestine Ashworth, as her birthdays progress throughout the years. There’s always a birthday cake, a pencil mark taken on the wall, and as Ernestine explains to us, a gathering of friends and family. “The genius of a party is to offer us all a rest from the daily human errand to travel morning until night. To stake a claim in an hour and say ‘I will notice this.’” The same could be said of theater, especially since these words were read aloud by director Vivienne Benesch on the first day of rehearsal. Ten days later, rehearsals had to be halted because of Covid. <[>What a sad time followed, much longer than any of us expected. We lost friends and relatives, medical staffs were exhausted to the bone, and looming ahead, Putin started a war, gas prices soared, and supermarkets were out of a lot of goods, even with the price hikes. And yet, here we are, enjoying a lovely play with a leading actress who makes stealing our hearts seem effortless.
A gentle warning to theater lovers; because this is a short, one act play, with one set and a limited cast, it will soon be performed everywhere. Sad to say, the lead will not be played by Debra Messing.
