The Broadway Theatre Review: Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
By Ross
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) arrives on Broadway with the kind of gentle confidence that feels almost radical: a small yet detailed musical that dares to be sincere, funny, and unabashedly human. Written with heart by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, the show charts an unlikely 24-hour connection between Dougal, a sweetly naïve, impossibly optimistic Brit arriving for his estranged father’s wedding, and Robin, the bride’s sister, an all-too-recognizable New Yorker fortified by cynicism and emotional armor. Under Tim Jackson’s focused direction and choreography, their cake-laiden trek across the city becomes something sweeter and more meaningful than either expects, and the musical, already adored across the pond, finds new layers of hope in its Broadway transfer.
At its center are two knockout performances that come together in a surprisingly fresh way. Sam Tutty’s Dougal is all joy, radiating such wide-eyed openness that the entire theatre seems to lean in with care toward him. His optimism never curdles into caricature; instead, it becomes a working philosophy, delivered with a vocal clarity and emotional transparency that make each number land with unexpected weight right off the plane. Tutty (West End’s Dear Evan Hansen) has that rare gift of making earnestness feel brave, and together with Christiani Pitts (Broadway’s King Kong), as Robin, the flavors mix together magically. She has the task of carrying the show’s harder truths, cut with sharp humour and a deeply felt, yet sometimes harsh honesty. Her resistance and resiliance, a stance every New Yorker in the audience can recognize immediately, slowly reveals its fractures in songs that allow Pitts to flex both comedic instincts and a beautifully grounded emotional presence. Together, they create a pairing that elevates the whole, even though we don’t necessarily root for them to become romantic. Instead, we hunger for something gentler and more rare: two strangers finding a kind of fulfillment in one another that isn’t defined by starry eyes but by truth and connection.
Barne and Buchan’s score astonishes us all with its instant sincerity. Even songs built around the small, seemingly inconsequential detritus of city life manage to feel emotionally precise, clever, and defined. They expand our understanding of these two hesitant companions, nudging them, and us, toward a softer, more forgiving worldview. Music supervisor Nick Finlow (West End’s The Time Traveler’s Wife) ensures the emotional textures land cleanly, while Lux Pyramid’s orchestrations give the score a propulsive tenderness, never overwhelming the show’s intimate scale. There’s real craftsmanship here in the show’s musical storytelling that trusts simplicity and invests deeply in the emotions built in between layers.
The production’s design elements embrace that same ethos of thoughtful restraint, although not without some mountain-climbing quirks. The scenic and costume design by Soutra Gilmour (West End/Broadway’s Betrayal) is anchored by a roundabout set that, while occasionally cluttered in its busy rotation, remains inventive in its ability to shift mood and geography with surprising flair. Some of the realignments are almost impossible to comprehend in the ‘how did they do that?‘ department, but in its final, revolving reveal, the climb is almost disarmingly simple, and that simplicity carries genuine emotional payoff. Jack Knowles’ lighting wraps the stage in warmth without sentimentality, and Tony Gayle’s sound design navigates the show’s tonal shifts with clarity and grace. Collectively, the visual and atmospheric language mirrors the musical’s heart: open, soft-edged, and quietly imaginative.
What ultimately makes Two Strangers such a winning Broadway arrival is its belief that tenderness is still theatrical currency. Jackson’s direction keeps the show surefooted, even at its most delicate, allowing Tutty and Pitts, and the entire creative team, to craft something that sneaks up on you. As we saw with Maybe Happy Ending, audiences are hungry for productions that treat emotion as serious craft, and hopefully, with these delightfully engaging Two Strangers, the much-needed emotional connection will deliver the Tony Award goods once again. By the time Dougal and Robin reach the end of their day-long odyssey, we realize the show has been quietly expanding our own capacity for hope. Not for the characters to fall in love, though that temptation flickers, but for them to find a version of happiness that feels honest, imperfect, and earned. In a season crowded with gaudy overindulgence, this small, sweet musical carries its multi-layered cake with surprising elegance.
