In the early workshops of the original musical “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York),” creators Jim Barne and Kit Buchan kept hearing that “our characters were fundamentally ‘unlikeable,’” Buchan wrote in his annotations of the sheet music (completed especially for Broadway News) for the show’s first musical number, “New York.” Barne and Buchan kept hearing that their leading man, Dougal, was too annoying and that leading lady, Robin, was too distant. You see: “Two Strangers” follows a whirlwind 48 hours between Dougal, an overeager Brit who comes to New York City for the first time to attend his estranged father’s wedding, and Robin, a native New Yorker who is the bride’s sister and Dougal’s ride from the airport.
The writing team took the notes about Dougal and Robin and made some changes, embracing the challenge of rewrites. “We liked the characters so much. So when people told us they didn’t like them, we had to try and put ourselves in their shoes and work out why,” said Barne. While they incorporated the feedback, Barne and Buchan chose not to change each character’s core, in hopes of challenging audiences.
“At that time, we had quite lofty ambitions for the show and we wanted it to be and feel different, and that includes [embracing that] people are difficult and they stay difficult,” Buchan said. “That’s something that really good films [demonstrate] — the kinds of films we wanted to emulate or that DNA we wanted to introduce into the show from the films we love. For example, ‘When Harry Met Sally’ or ‘Before Sunrise’ and ‘Before Sunset,’ these are films about difficult people whose difficulties are not going to evaporate.”
It’s easy to root for and invest in likable characters. But what about people who are unlikable — at least, at first? “People, in reality, are difficult to love and it takes effort to love and accept people,” continued Buchan. Likewise, Barne and Buchan offer the type of complexity in “Two Strangers” that requires effort but also yields great reward.
