About THE CAKE
May 1st, 2019
Horizon Theatre Company is continuing its 35th Anniversary Season with a production from the writer of TV’s biggest hit, This Is Us – Bekah Brunstetter! THE CAKE, a touching new comedy, will hit the Little Five Points stage from May 17 – June 23, 2019. THE CAKE is hailed by STAGESCENELA as “A DEEPLY PERSONAL, DELIGHTFULLY DOWN-HOME PORTRAIT OF THE GAY-WEDDING-CAKE-WARS.”
“This play is so wonderfully funny and full of heart that I immediately fell in love with each of the characters the first time I read it,” says director Lauren Morris. “The real magic of Bekah’s writing is that as you are drawn in, you can’t help but also begin to look at yourself. I think it is really rare right now to encounter a divisive issue and not know immediately which side you’re on. Politically, we’re often so isolated from people who think differently than we do, that we forget that ‘they’ really are a lot like ‘us’ — doing the best they can to do what they truly believe is the right thing. The Cake is full of love, in all of its complexities, contradictions, comforts, and hopes, for not only for us, but also for them. And to me, that’s maybe just the medicine we all need right now.”
All is going well for Della. Her North Carolina bakery is legendary and she’s just been cast on her favorite television baking competition. And when the girl she helped raise comes home and asks her to make a cake for her upcoming wedding, she’s overjoyed – until she discovers that the fiancé is actually a fiancée. Della’s life is suddenly turned upside down. She can’t really make a cake for a gay wedding, can she? Struggling to reconcile her deeply-held belief in “traditional marriage” and the love she has for the woman she helped raise, Della finds herself in strange new territory. Inspired by a story still in the headlines, this marvelously funny new play by Bekah Brunstetter (TV’s This Is Us) is proof that love is the key ingredient in creating common ground.
Bringing this story to life is four of the best Atlanta actors out there. As Della, the baker forced to re-examine, is the fabulous Marcie Millard (Horizon’s Third Country, City Spring’s 42nd Street). Opposite Millard as Jim, Della’s husband, is Horizon favorite Allan Edwards who has been in atr least one show each season over the past five years (Horizon’s Waffle Palace Christmas, Citizens Market, City of Conversation). As Jen, a woman returning home to plan her dream wedding, is Rhyn McLemore Saver (Alliance’s Ever After, Aurora’s Bridges of Madison County). Finally, as Macy, the woman set to marry Jen, is Parris Sarter (7 Stage’s Angry Fags, Actor’s Express’ Angels In America).
Lauren Morris leads a Suzi Award Winning creative team that includes scenic design from Moriah and Isabel Curley-Clay, lighting design from Mary Parker, costume design from Cole Spivia, and sound design from Amy L Levin.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT & HOW THE CAKE WAS BAKED:
Playwright Bekah Brunstetter hails from Winston-Salem, North Carolina and currently lives in Los Angeles. She is a producer on NBC’s This is Us and is currently working on a musical adaptation of The Notebook with Ingrid Michaelson. Brunstetter grew up Southern Baptist in a conservative, religious family. In fact, her father, a former state senator, voted for a 2012 amendment that prohibited same-sex marriage in North Carolina, although it was declared unconstitutional in federal court in 2014. So, she had been grappling deeply with the challenge of how to talk to people you love about your very different beliefs.
The idea for the play was sparked by the Masterpiece Cakeshop case that went before the Supreme Court. That’s the story of a Colorado same-sex-couple who became snarled in a legal battle with a baker who refused to make them a wedding cake because they were gay. She used that incident as a jumping off point for a story that was personal to her, but explored the same issues of people with diametrically opposing values. “People are making assumptions and judgments and just getting angry and storming out. It’s rare that people are forced to be together and listen to each other,” says Brunstetter. She wrote a play that would offer hope and model of how we might begin to talk to each other. “You still have to love your family. You still have to reach across the table … Della is lovable because most of the time your family members are lovable … You have to give people time to change, reevaluate and change some more.”
Brunstetter has previously written for ABC Family’s Switched at Birth and Starz’s American Gods. Her other plays include Going to a Place Where You Already Are (South Coast Rep), The Oregon Trail (Portland Center Stage), Be a Good Little Widow (Ars Nova) and Oohrah! (Atlantic Theater Company). Brunstetter is currently working on musicals with Karen O and Cinco Paul. She holds a BA UNC Chapel Hill & a MFA in Dramatic Writing from the New School for Drama. Brunstetter was a founding member of the Kilroys.
THE CAKE will run May 17 – June 23, 2019 (Press Opening: May 24, 2019). Performances are Wednesday through Sunday (Wed-Fri at 8pm, Sat at 3pm & 8pm, Sun at 5pm). There are no matinees on May 18, 2019 and June 1, 2019. There is an ADDED MATINEE on Thursday, June 20, 2019 at 11am. Tickets start at $30 for weekdays and $35 for weekends. $20 anytime for teens and full-time student under 25 with valid student ID. Prices are subject to change and will rise as performances fill up. Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets early for best prices. Seating is general admission. Our intimate theatre is in the heart of Inman Park and Little Five Points at the corner of Euclid and Austin Avenues (1083 Austin Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30307), and includes FREE parking. Tickets and information are available at horizontheatre.com or 404.584.7450.
GROUP RATES
Group discounts are available for parties of 10 or more. Horizon Theatre offers a lounge space available for rental for pre-show gatherings. Contact Group Sales at 404.523.1477 x111 for more information.