Review: The Cake

The Cake: Tasteful, Layered, Bittersweet.

The Cake, performed at WWU’s DUG Theatre, was deliciously nuanced. But is The Cake baked to perfection? Well, let’s get into the finer ingredients.

Mirroring true events, The Cake tells the story of a conservative baker, Della, who refuses to make a cake for her family friend Jen’s lesbian wedding. What surprised me about this production was just how humanizing it was of all its characters, conservative and liberal. This was in part thanks to Grace Schmitt’s performance as Della. Schmitt captured Della’s caring, family-centric side as much as she did Della’s Christian guilt and fear, portraying Della as a loving woman at battle with her values. Ultimately, I believe that the narrative lets Della off too easily, having chosen her religious values over her family friend. However, I appreciate that we got to see Della’s inner conflict between the stability she finds within her traditional values and the love she has for Jen, leading us to understand why Della made this decision. Likewise, Jen is a carefully layered character. She is still very much at battle between her conservative upbringing and family and her own beliefs and sense of identity. Rather than cutting off her family and choosing to throw away all the values she was brought up with, Jen still loves her family and Della and is understanding of their beliefs, even though they contradict her own identity. This nuanced narrative validates Jen’s struggles with her internalization of these values. Jen’s liberal fiancé, Macy, and Della’s conservative husband, Tim, are both portrayed to struggle with the conflict between their identities and beliefs as well. Rather than the one-note villainization of either party, The Cake takes a more humanizing, complex, and tastefully rich approach.

And the icing on The Cake? The design. Della’s costumes in particular, traditionally Southern, were gorgeous- aprons and gingham. The immersive prop cakes were gorgeous as well- a variety of tasty-looking cakes. The two sets- a bedroom and a cake shop- were simple, yet effective, taking place on a revolving wall. A round of applause for the stagehands as well for quickly switching between sets. Between scenes, the music and blue lighting added to the atmosphere. Particularly, the country music played before the show started really set the scene. The lighting, added to the mental state and perspectives of each character. Particularly during Della’s daydreams where the lights would dim and a spotlight would appear on Della, or when Jen is giving an emotional monologue and the lights dim then suddenly rise when she is interrupted. These elements all mixed together to make a beautifully decorated and layered cake.

The Cake is layered and rich. Baked to perfection? Not necessary, but the tasteful complexity of its characters and the decorative design are certainly worth a taste. I recommend trying a slice.

Miller, Daryl H. “The Politics of Wedding Cake: ‘this Is Us’ Writer Bekah Brunstetter Ices a Big Year with a Timely Play.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2017, www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-bekah-brunstetter-20170628-story.html.

“The Cake.” Concord Theatricals, www.concordtheatricals.com/p/62951/the-cake. Accessed 26 May 2024.

“The Cake.” The Cake | Western Washington University, cfpa.wwu.edu/event/cake. Accessed 26 May 2024.