Disco gays of a certain age may remember the song MacArthur Park by Richard Harris. It was made famous by Donna Summer.  The lyrics included leaving a cake out in the rain, and how things will never be the same again. Well, there is a new musical titled Cake Off, now playing at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA, and you may never be the same again after seeing it.

 

Before the musical began, the producers came out to chat. We learned that this production had only two weeks of rehearsal.  It’s amazing to think that the actors performed the movements, sang the songs, and delivered fully-nuanced, memorable performances on such short notice. Praise should not only go to the actors, but also to choreographer Josh Prince, director Gaye Taylor Upchurch, and musical director Andrea Grody.

 

Originally created for the Signature Theatre’s Women’s Voices Theatre Festival, the plot concerns a cake baking contest in 1996, the first year that male contestants were allowed to compete in the Millberry Cake Off for a grand prize of one million dollars.  Based upon an original play, Bake Off, by Sherri Wilner, the book is by Sherri Wilner and Julia Gordon, Lyrics by Adam Gwon and Julia Gordon, with Music by Adam Gwon.

 

As could be expected from a musical written for a women’s theatre festival, Cake Off focuses upon a woman, Rita Gaw (Michele Ragusa). Middle aged, divorced with grown children, she had worked to put her then husband through law school. She is now competing for the third and last time to win the grand prize. Miss Ragusa as Rita is a marvel. A young woman, she makes us believe she is an older woman while singing the life out of her songs.

 

Rita meets a fey, chatty, modern man, Paul Hubbard (Euan Morton), who bakes an occasional cake using his disaffected son’s recipes (Wyatt Hubbard played by Aidan J. Lawrence). As luck (and plot) would have it, Rita and Paul are side-by-side contestants. Mr. Morton is perfectly cast as the modern man who is neither macho nor totally self-assured.  He tries to find a way to be a role model for his son, Wyatt, but often falls short.

 

Enter Justin Guarini as Jack DeVault, the emcee with a lot of angst and issues. Mr. Guarini also plays two other characters: Lenora Cass, a sassy woman of color who is also a three-time contestant, and Nancy DeMarco, a cake-baking legend. This is where the fabulousness of the musical comes into play. With only a few items of clothing and accessories to signal the character and gender changes, Mr. Guarini gives a triple tour-de-force performance.  He inhabits each character with a world of individual personality. It is impossible to look away for even a second. Mr. Guarini’s female characters are magnificent theatrical creations. He is the Paul Scofield of female impersonators.

 

With Justin Guarini’s excellent performance, Michele Ragusa’s astonishing work, and the other fine cast members, along with a fine, bouncy musical score, there is much to like in Cake Off.

If you are looking for a feel-good musical to raise your spirits leavened by great acting and singing, look no further than the Bucks County Playhouse’s production of Cake Off. For more information, visit www.bcptheater.org