Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) is a delicious, giddily superb deal with | Theatre | Entertainment | EUROtoday

Come on, who hasn’t danced round their resort room, presumably a bit of hungover, in a bathrobe and inexperienced foam Statue of Liberty tiara? Especially after the most effective evening of your life with the individual of your goals…

Even if one way or the other you have not, you possibly can really feel each giddy emotion proper alongside the extraordinary Sam Tutty as naive, hopelessly candy Dougal on this small however superbly, completely fashioned musical.

Riffing affectionately on romcom tropes, Jim Barne and Kit Buchan’s heartfelt new present solely has two characters and two settings: pleasure and sheer pleasure. It’s already such a beloved hit with audiences that it has prolonged its run by six weeks.

Wide-eyed Brit Dougal arrives in New York for 36 hours to attend the nuptials of the long-lost father who scarpered earlier than he was born. Met on the airport by the American bride’s jaded sister Robin (Dujonna Gift), he inserts himself into her life, marriage ceremony confectionary duties and all, and the enjoyable begins.

The whole present is a triumph of simplicity. Two towering piles of baggage cleverly convert into resort beds, a espresso store counter or Chinatown restaurant sales space, sidewalks and the bottom of the Statue of Liberty (which each impersonate).

The rating is recent and tuneful, the lyrics witty and clever, and the sensational stars breathe actual life into all of it. Both cried mid-song and scene on opening evening as I wept, laughed and cheered them on. Pure bliss.

Olivier Award-winner Tutty (for Dear Evan Hansen) is an irresistible bundle of nerves and puppyish attraction, overwhelmingly excited to be in a metropolis he is fairly positive he is aware of properly from a number of viewings of Home Alone 2. He skips round, continually beaming, speaking to random individuals and invading Robin’s private house (and peace of thoughts). In different palms, the character is perhaps an Olympic stadium of crimson flags, however Tutty’s mild contact and beautiful flashes of sensitivity simply make you desire a Dougal of your individual.

The first act is a hilarious bumbling-innocent-abroad romp as these very opposites conflict. Robin is late for work, and exhausted by her sister’s fixed bridal calls for. We begin intuiting that she is sad along with her life – and there’s something darker swirling underneath her spikey floor resentments.

Dougal’s human golden retriever act slowly melts her reserve and ultimately each throw warning (and private and familial) obstacles into the Hudson and run gloriously amok with the groom’s black Amex.

The second half goes deeper as two misplaced souls in determined want of change collide, fuelled by attraction and circumstance. Buried hurts and painful truths floor to seek out consolation in connection and compassion earlier than the cathartic finish.

So many exhibits strive so laborious to impose a message, really feel a necessity to inform us one thing they suppose we must always know (and often do already, thanks), or ham-fistedly need to exhibit how intelligent and inventive and cutting-edge they’re. I hate these form of exhibits.

I’m completely comfortable to suppose, however let me really feel first. Two Strangers makes no bones about its roots in hopelessly hopeful romcoms. It gently presents us two very recognisable characters, each hurting, each lacking one thing and each afraid to succeed in for it. It exhibits us the thrill of seizing a second, decreasing a barrier, or just taking a second to breathe on this planet round you.

I left the theatre feeling infinitely higher than after I went in. I felt a bit of extra hopeful. I stared on the extraordinary metropolis passing by my bus home windows on the way in which house. And I smiled.

TWO STRANGERS (CARRY A CAKE THROUGH NEW YORK) IS AT THE CRITERION THEATRE TO AUGUST 31