The title of the musical “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)” is deceiving. Not that the new Broadway offering isn’t about two strangers who carry a cake across New York — it is. But the title reflects a matter-of-factness and abject simplicity that stands in stark contrast to the depth of the musical itself.
On the surface, “Two Strangers” follows Robin and Dougal — two people who are about to become family. Dougal’s estranged father is about to marry Robin’s sister. Dougal is an energetic Brit who has always dreamed of New York City; Robin is a jaded New Yorker who retrieves Dougal from the airport. And while these descriptions sum up the characters, book writer and lyricist Kit Buchan and composer Jim Barne aimed to create vulnerable, lush people with whom audiences can’t help but resonate.
As crafted by Buchan and Barne, Robin and Dougal (pronounced DOO-guhl) are “actually really rich, fleshed-out characters having a genuine connection,” director Tim Jackson told Broadway News. That vividness is what attracted Jackson to the project in the first place — and he detected it in reading just the first five pages of Buchan and Barne’s text more than seven years ago.
Still, Buchan and Barne said that over its years of development, their musical has gotten richer. “It’s 10 years of filling up those cups [of those roles],” said Barne. “Actors filling up those cups, as well, and expanding and adding nuance.”
“And Tim,” Buchan interjected, crediting their director for enriching “Two Strangers.” “He’s one of the most emotionally literate people you could ever hope to encounter, and he is never satisfied with any shortcut or corner-cutting in terms of characterization. He’s not satisfied with broad strokes characterization. He’s not satisfied with simplifying people’s emotional lives — oh, this happened in their childhood, and so now they express themselves this way. He’s immensely nuanced.”
The actors who inhabit Robin and Dougal, Christian Pitts and Sam Tutty, respectively, agreed. “Robin is this wonderfully complex person,” said Pitts. And Tutty described the emotional shifts that both of these protagonists experience as “meaty.”
Even in its production style, “Two Strangers” highlights the people onstage with a design that provokes the imagination rather than literalizing the myriad city locations. There’s little to distract from the individuals at its core.
