A well-worn apron, blue hair ribbon, goldfish, and bottle of champagne rest among a sea of tangled blue furniture — these ordinary relics of a fully-lived life serve as a backdrop to the fleeting action of City Theatre’s production of Noah Haidle’s Broadway play Birthday Candles.
Throughout the 90-minute show, audiences follow protagonist Ernestine’s life from age 17 into her early 100s with her annual tradition of baking her birthday cake as a touchstone through time. With the flash of an overhead light and a gentle pulse of sound, the audience watches vignettes of Ernestine’s birthdays in rapid succession. From early teenage love to her eventual death, Birthday Candles attempts to capture the breakneck pace of real life — one moment an ambitious teenager, the next, a parent of adult children, until, finally, an elderly widow.
Throughout the show, directed by Marc Masterson, audiences see Ernestine lose her children, her romantic partners, and her home in what feels like one breath, a reminder of the brevity of existence. Ernestine (played by Robin Walsh, a longtime theater professor at Point Park University) and her subsequent life is an honest and tender depiction of modern domesticity.
City Theatre’s show is familiar and familial, with Walsh relatably playing a person facing the universal struggles of love and loss.
The production, with its predominantly middle-aged cast, relies on the physical acting abilities of the supporting cast to properly illustrate a character’s age. Andrew William Smith proves himself a knockout physical actor. His primary character, Matt, Ernestine’s high school sweetheart-turned-husband, begins the show by sauntering about the stage with the aloofness of a cocky, yet disappointing teenage nephew before he morphs into a heavy-footed father more than comfortable taking up space in his home.
Near the end of Matt’s arc, an unnamed illness leaves him with little motor control. Although the striking scene of Ernestine feeding Matt his final meal lasts mere moments, Smith’s astonishing talent leaves a haunting aftertaste in the audience’s mouth. His brilliant physicality will leave viewers feeling Smith could effortlessly play the Elephant Man if desired.
His notable performance is more than matched by his colleagues Deena Aziz and Gavin Lawrence. Aziz, who plays several characters throughout the show, effortlessly slips between an aging mother, an insolent college student, a playful child, and a depressed adult. While portraying Ernestine’s mentally ill adult daughter, Aziz beautifully captures the often imperceptible, yet overwhelming pain of not being able to hold on to those you love most; there is a heaviness to her breath and gait that yanks on the audience’s heartstrings.
The utterly delightful Lawrence provides much-needed comic relief as Kenneth, Ernestine’s patient, warm-hearted childhood friend. Lawrence radiates a sense of pure, unadulterated love, often found after countless years of familial devotion, and serves as a reminder of the power of lasting, meaningful friendship.
Audiences will likely depart with quiet, renewed gratitude for life and their loved ones. As such, Birthday Candles, much like the titular cake, is best enjoyed in the comfort and company of those the viewer loves most.
Birthday Candles. Continues through Sun., March 30. City Theatre. 1300 Bingham St., South Side. $38-55. citytheatrecompany.org
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2025.
