Not far from the University of Minnesota’s West Bank campus, a local community theatre is welcoming guests for its latest production directed by Jennie Ward. Feb. 20 marked Theatre in the Round Players Inc.’s opening night rendition of “The Cake,” written by Bekah Brunstetter.
The play finds its inspiration in the 2018 Supreme Court case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, in which a Colorado baker refused to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple based on religious grounds. While the initial complaints were filed in 2012, the Supreme Court eventually issued a ruling in favor of the cakeshop in June 2018.
Brunstetter’s script shifts the focus from the courtroom to the kitchen, following Della, played by Jenny Ramirez, a North Carolina baker who isn’t one to ruffle feathers, usually leaving the big decision to her husband, Tim, played by Daniel Stock. She prides herself on her tried and true recipes, avoiding the fuss and flair of modern trends. Offering some lighthearted jokes about gluten-free goods and nut milks.
However, her world is upended when Jen, played by Via Logan, the daughter of her late best friend, returns to their hometown. Jen and her fiancée, Macy, played by Natavia Lewis, have a wedding just six months away, and Jen has her heart set on a Della-made cake for the big day.
Della must confront the friction between the beliefs she has always followed and the love she carries for the woman she helped raise.
The two-hour production features an intimate cast of five at the center of an arena-style stage. This theatre-in-the-round setup places the actors at the center of the room, surrounded by audience members in tiered seating, creating a vulnerable and immersive atmosphere.
Throughout the performance, Della and Jen act as the emotional bridge between the polarized viewpoints represented by Tim and Macy.
Macy, a queer, agnostic, Black woman, represents a politically progressive ideology, while Tim embodies the traditional values and ideas of a Southern, blue-collar, Christian man. Della, though guided by a love-thy-neighbor philosophy, finds herself at the crossroads of ingrained dogma and the natural leanings of her heart.
Simultaneously, Jen’s journey is one of internal conflict as she navigates self-acceptance in the overwhelming shadow of her late mother’s religious legacy. Her deep-seated love for her hometown and ingrained people-pleasing nature provide a set of rose-tinted lenses, softening the reality of a community that may not yet be ready to embrace her authentic self.
This production explores themes of religion, identity, sexuality, infertility and desire through a poignant and comedic lens. Audience members shared laughs at the effortlessly scripted jokes and well-placed double entendres served to sweeten the performance’s heavier moments.
The production’s meaning is less about reaching a single resolution and more about the uncomfortable but necessary steps we take to explore identities outside our own. “The Cake” offers a humanistic, authentic lens to a situation where audience members might otherwise crave a perfectly piped conclusion.
Guests wanting a slice of “The Cake” can check out Theatre In The Round’s weekend showtimes through March 15. For information regarding the play’s content and its sliding scale ticket pricing, visit the Theatre In The Round Players Inc. website for more details and to get a bite of this bittersweet production.
