Jenny Ramirez Photo by Tom Taintor

Bekah Brunstetter's play The Cake, which might be properly termed a "dramedy," premiered at the Echo Theatre in Los Angeles in the summer of 2017. At that point, the prevailing belief was based on the Colorado Court of Appeals ruling, siding with the gay couple and requiring the bakery to accept their cake order (notwithstanding the fact that the couple had already married and secured a different baker, amenable to their request), citing discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The Cake has the advantage of playing well under either legal circumstance, as evidenced in the solid production now on stage at Theatre in the Round. Brunstetter's intention was to use this case, which had been making headlines for years (the couple had first approached and been turned down by Masterpiece Cakeshop in 2012), to craft an even-handed look at individuals on both sides of the quandary. While The Cake leans its sympathy toward the betrothed couple (though, perhaps that judgement reflects my own bias), all of the characters are finely drawn and given utterly believable dialogue that enables the audience to understand and even appreciate their perspectives.

That said, the plot device that Brunstetter has created to frame this debate is somewhat of a stretch. Macy (Natavia Lewis, exuding pragmatism) and Jen (Via Logan, exuding romanticism) are a lesbian couple who live in Brooklyn, though Jen is from a small town in North Carolina. Brunstetter is from North Carolina, so we can't fault her for reaching to familiar ground. Jen talks Macy into getting married (Macy doesn't care about the legal thing) and having the big wedding she always dreamed of, using the large chunk of money her mother (who did not know Jenny was gay) left her specifically for that purpose when she died five years before, and we can buy that. But would Jen really go back to the small town, where nobody knows she is a lesbian, to have her wedding? Doesn't the couple have friends in Brooklyn who are far more excited by, to say nothing about accepting of, a celebration of same-sex love?

Still, the premise is required to work out the rest of the plot. The baker in question, Della (Jenny Ramirez, emitting charm and sincerity), was Jen's mother's best friend. Since Della and her good ol' boy husband Tim (D'aniel Stock) couldn't have children, Della thought of Jen as her honorary goddaughter. She is thrilled to learn Jen is getting married and volunteers to make a beautiful cake, until she learns that Jen is marrying a woman. Also, Macy happens to be Black, though to the playwright's credit, little issue is made of that point, and it is Macy, not any of the other characters, all white, who brings this up.

Della believes that her Christian faith condemns such a marriage, so how can she make a cake that celebrates it? Yet she truly does love Jen and wants her to be happy. What to do? Tim is even more aghast than Della at the idea of two women marrying, and firmly tells his wife she isn't going to make their cake. Now the play is about accepting the tenet that love is love, regardless of gender, and also about a woman establishing her autonomy within a culture of persistent male chauvinism. To make things even more elaborate, Della and Tim's marriage has become very dry in the bedroom, a circumstance explicitly contrasted to the frisky bedroom play enjoyed by Jen and Macy.

All of this begins to feel like piling on to create as complicated a plot as possible, rather than honing in deeply on the presenting conflict. Still, Brunstetter pulls it off with smart, funny, and insightful dialogue, delivered here by actors who thoroughly understand their characters' vantage points. All four of the principal actors seem completely at home in their character's skin. The Southern dialects employed by Ramirez (as Della) and Stock (as Tim) feel on target, not laid on too thick or thin, while we hear Logan (as Jen) revert to a bit of a twang, the effect of returning to her home turf, which Macy points out (note, my Midwest-bred wife tells me I do the same thing when we travel from Minnesota back to my New York stomping grounds).

I have left out, till now, a most unfortunate element of the play, one I think should be excised. You see, we learn right at the top that Della is so phenomenal a baker, she has been chosen to compete on a baking reality show, patently modeled on "The Great American Baking Show." She fantasizes about the show's celebrity judge, George, whom she describes as being extremely handsome. Well, George (Kjer Whiting) shows up (in Della's imagination) on stage, with a rather creepy presence and a horribly affected voice. With each appearance, he becomes increasingly androgynous and exhibits increasingly bizarre behavior. These visions confuse and perturb Della, and I dare say, have the same effect on the audience. Surely they are meant to mirror Della's conflict about Jen and the lack of heat in her own bedroom. But, really, they don't help and actually act against the otherwise authentic feel of the play.

Here's the odd thing: I located the Samuel French published play online, and it lists two possible sets of characters: One, from the play's 2017 world premiere in Los Angeles, lists five characters, George being one of them; the other, from the play's 2019 New York premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club, lists just four characters–no George. I have only had the opportunity to see the version that includes George, but for my money, I have to believe that this good play is made even better without him.

Jennie Ward's direction keeps things moving swiftly and manages scene changes adroitly, though one wishes she could have toned down that unsettling George business. Aside from those scenes, the play maintains a tone of respect for its characters, enabling us to laugh with, but not at them. Even with its serious theme, there is a lot of humor embedded in the dialogue and a few sight gags as well, and Ward makes sure we don't miss out on those.

Kevin Lock's effective sets alternate between Della's bake shop, Della and Tim's bedroom, and the bedroom where Jen and Macy are staying in town. The bakeshop comprises glassed-in bakery cases packed with decorative cake boxes grouped around a bistro table and chairs and has an especially familiar feel. Emma Shook's costumes are well matched to enhance each character's persona. Sound, lighting, and props designs all serve the production well.

I feel I would recommend The Cake more highly if it was the Manhattan Theatre Club version. However, what we have is the version selected by Theatre in the Round (and I don't know if the licensing process actually does allow a choice). Even with its shortcomings, the play is affecting, very well presented and acted, and stimulates its audience to think. You may not be able to have your cake and eat it too, but this Cake leaves you with a lot to digest.

The Cake runs through March 15, 2026, at Theatre in the Round, 245 Cedar Street, Minneapolis MN. For tickets and information, please call 612-333-3010 or visit www.theatreintheround.org.

Playwright: Bekah Brunstetter; Director: Jennie Ward; Set Design: Kevin Lock; Assistant Set Designer: Ash Aurig; Costume Design: Emma Shook; Lighting Design: Todd Reemtsma; Sound Design: Jennie Ward; Props Design: P.J. Graber; Assistant Director/Intimacy Director: H. Ashley; Stage Manager: Indigo Cabanela-Leiseth; Assistant Stage Manager: Taylor Koehler.

Cast: Natavia Lewis (Macy), Via Logan (Jen), Jenny Ramirez (Della), D'aniel Stock (Tim), Ker Whiting (George).