"Noah Haidle’s “Birthday Candles,” which opened on Broadway Sunday night at the American Airlines Theater, tries to build poignancy and depth through moments that repeat like a record needle stuck in a groove. Instead, this Roundabout Theater Company production gets caught in a superficial cycle of wannabe profundities and emotional pantomimes."
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"Unfortunately, for a play about the quotidian joys and heartbreaks of life, Birthday Candles rarely goes beneath the surface. The characters sound less like real people and more like Hallmark greeting cards — such as when an 18-year-old Ernestine proclaims in a line said by no teenager ever: “I am a rebel against the universe. I am waging a war with the everyday. I am going to surprise God!”"
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"But Birthday Candles, directed by Vivienne Benesch, is little more than a compendium of twee pseudo wisdoms: Everything is made of stardust, forgiveness is the heart of most major religions, goldfish only have a three-second memory span, and so forth. There’s a slice of life somewhere in this oversugared and underbaked confection, but even that slice is stale."
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"For all its references to philosophy, though, Birthday Candles doesn’t achieve that existential calm, nor does it contain those other plays’ sense of a network of human connection. Instead it keeps its attention firmly on Ernestine. This focus allows the Roundabout Theater to mount the show as a star vehicle for Messing — but it also constrains and dulls the experience."
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"Despite whatever missteps, though, Messing and the rest of the cast nicely convey the spectrum of emotions that a life’s sweep encompasses, from happy times to sad (at the reviewed performance, audience sobs and sniffles were as audible as the laughter). Not even a tacked-on final birthday scene that strains credulity can sour the simple, icing-sweet pleasures of Birthday Candles."
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"This play feels like an offering, a true gift, a lesson on survival and a bold reminder to live each day with zest and adventure. Certainly, the icing on the cake is that we survived all the challenges of 2020 (and beyond) to enjoy this scrumptious production."
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"But those really are minor quibbles in a truly must-see show that is fully successful when it comes to everything that really matters. Messing didn’t pick some revival or obvious showcase for her comedic chops: she strives mightily and beautifully to find her way through a wise and sad drama, just like the character she plays."
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"Nonetheless, Haidle’s plays (his better “Smokefall” did not receive the production it deserved when it played New York back in 2016) have a way of convincing every audience member they’ve been written just for them. “Birthday Candles,” at its best, bubbles up our own cherished and difficult memories of the people in our lives who’ve come and gone."
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