Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
One Final Critwink for 2025
A Critwink* from the Intelligent Showmosexual
*In case you missed it: “critwinks” are shorter reviews turned out in a single draft
After my disappointing experience at Chess, I was determined not to let it be my final theatergoing experience of 2025. At the same time, a slew of end-of-year commitments and some family-related travel didn’t leave me with much time to squeeze in something else. So, at the very last minute—literally, at 2 PM on the final Saturday in December—I walked up to the box office of Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) and asked what they had available for the performance that was starting momentarily. I was offered a substantially discounted ticket and quickly settled in for an experience that could not have been any more different from Chess while still being a Broadway musical.
While Chess is famous for its thrilling score but notoriously problematic book, Two Strangers possesses a mostly unremarkable score but a delightful book. While Chess boasts a large cast that is largely underused, Two Strangers features only two actors who work their butts off. While Chess has grand aspirations for dark commentary on geopolitics, Two Strangers seems thoroughly content to tell a small and sunny story of…well…two strangers.
The first in that pair is Dougal (Sam Tutty), a twentysomething Englishman who has the personality of “a golden retriever…with less boundaries.” He has flown into New York not just to celebrate the wedding of his “he sends cards every birthday and Christmas” father, but also to meet him for the very first time. Dougal is being picked up at the airport by the bride’s sister Robin (Christiani Pitts), a native Brooklynite turned East Village barista grappling with the state of her life on the eve of her 27th birthday.1 Dougal, eager to explore the city, wonders whether he and Robin should start with the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building; she, on the other hand, makes it clear that she will not be joining him on his adventures, and they part ways. The next day—motivated either by his need for a playmate, his lack of spending money, or a connection he felt—Dougal turns up at her job and volunteers to accompany a reluctant Robin on her next wedding errand, picking up the cake. An entirely different type of adventure unexpectedly ensues.
Well, it’s unexpected to the characters anyway. Everyone in the audience who’s ever seen a romantic comedy will see exactly where the story is going. They’ll probably even be able to predict the few “twists” the writers have tried to add. It doesn’t matter: the chief joys of Two Strangers lie not in what the story encompasses, but in how it unfurls.
That “how” includes unfussy and uncynical direction by Tim Jackson; genuinely laugh out loud jokes in a book by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan (who also wrote the music and lyrics); a minimalistic set by Soutra Gilmour that looks—and, yes, probably is—cheap, but offers some enchanting surprises; and two wonderful performances…that I’ll discuss shortly. Although the music in the first act rarely rises above adequate, it is always pleasant, and improves in the second act, culminating in a satisfying eleven-o’clock duet. Did the show need both of those acts? Probably not. With some trimming, it likely could have been an even more impactful intermission-less musical. But it is such a sweet-spirited little show, and employs its romcom tropes so earnestly, that I found myself walking away swept up in its magic rather than focusing on its shortcomings.
And a major reason why is who’s casting the spell. Pitts crafts an arc for her less ingratiating role with intelligence and sensitivity, finding ways to make Robin guarded, but not hostile; relatable in her reservations; and icy enough that we have the joy of watching her defrost over the course of the musical without ever actually appearing harsh or unsympathetic. Tutty, an Olivier winner for originating Evan Hansen on the West End, serves up the showier and more immediately endearing role, which in lesser hands could have come across as hammy, like it’s filet mignon. Alternately hilarious and heartbreakingly vulnerable, with a soaring tenor that can easily induce goosebumps, Tutty’s Broadway debut announces his stardom as confidently and unambiguously as the “Star To Be” character announces hers in Annie. His performance alone is worth the price of admission, but the show works as well as it does because Pitts plays Mark Darcy to Tutty’s Bridget Jones so honestly.
Of course, Bridget Jones’s Diary is just one archetype-invoking property that Two Strangers recalls. Comparisons are also inevitable to the 2025 Tony winner for Best Musical, Maybe Happy Ending. Despite being another romcom musical with a small cast and road-trip structure, Maybe Happy Ending is ultimately more ambitious, both musically and dramatically; it ventures into more melancholy places and basks in the bittersweet. But after the way 2025 has unfolded, to invoke one of the song titles from Two Strangers, I’m happy that “this is the place” where I ended the year.
Happy New Year to all…even the creators of Heathers.
the not-a-bottom line
🌈🌈🌈 (out of five)
a guide to ticket-buying
As mentioned, I approached the box office at the Longacre at 2 PM on Saturday asking what they had for the matinee that was about to start. I was sold an orchestra right seat (K7) for $69; the same seat retails with fees on Ticketmaster for about $191.
My view was excellent. I’d avoid going much farther to the sides because of a sightline issue that a center piece of the set may create. I’d also avoid sitting in the first couple of rows, even in orchestra center.
Despite there being a noticeable number of empty seats, I haven’t yet seen Two Strangers pop up on TDF or offer discount codes on sites like Broadwaybox.com. I do think it pops up on TKTS somewhat regularly, though not always at a discount of 50%.
UPDATE: As of 1/1/26, Two Strangers is on TDF for several performances in January and February.
a key to the pictures
There are quite a few professionally shot videos of musical numbers from Two Strangers, though some were shot in London before Pitts joined the cast. Here’s a sampling.
An in-studio video of Tutty and Pitts performing “New York,” one of the score’s strongest songs, especially in Act One.
Before opening on Broadway, Tutty and Pitts performed the show at the American Repertory Theater where this video was shot of them performing “On the App,” a comic number about Tinder.
In a press preview captured by Playbill, Tutty and Pitts performed three songs, including “New York,” “This Is the Place,” and “American Express.”
I wonder if I’ll feel similarly when I turn 27. I’m currently about to turn 25 for the 19th time.