Noah Haidle’s regional premiere spans 80 years in 90 minutes, finding meaning in the traditions that hold a life together.

Birthday Candles follows Ernestine (Gabriella Cavallero) from adolescence into her golden years, offering glimpses of both the highest highs and lowest lows — moments that are at once mundane and monumental. Throughout it all, Cavallero portrays our matriarchal lead as kind, caring and surprisingly even-keeled, even when things don’t go as planned.

The Curious Theatre production begins in Caitlin Ayer’s elaborately staged kitchen, complete with fully stocked cabinets and shelves, a full-size icebox, oven, sink and countertops. In the middle of the room sits an island covered with mixing bowls, ingredients and measuring cups. A large dining room table rests off to the side. For a touch of whimsy, dozens of brass baking molds hung overhead on nearly invisible lines.

The details are meticulous — a ceramic teapot collection displayed on a top shelf, a window at the sink, a coat tree with jackets that will all be used later — because there was never a set change. Ernestine’s childhood kitchen and dining room serve as the backdrop for the entire performance, the first of several bold format choices that set this production apart.

Dropping in year after year

Another one of those bold choices was that this show only drops us into Ernestine’s life on, as the title suggests, her birthday. We move chronologically (always forward, never back) but with uneven leaps through time. In one scene Ernestine’s son has a girlfriend, in the next he’s married, and soon after he has a newborn. Time moves quickly when a story spans more than 80 years in 90 minutes.

What stays consistent, however, is what Ernestine and her family are doing each year on her birthday: baking a cake, marking height measurements on the doorframe and exchanging presents. Noah Haidle’s story becomes, in many ways, a love letter to traditions like these. As we watch Ernestine navigate life’s saddest and most joyous occasions, we are reminded time and time again how much comfort and stability family traditions can provide.

Devon James, Michael McNeill and Rodney Lizcano in the Curious Theatre production of ‘Birthday Candles.’ | Photo: Amanda Tipton Photography

Repetition as comfort and design

We feel that same sense of comfort in the play’s use of repetition, which functions almost like a shared tradition between the audience and the characters. There’s the recurring reference to Otman, the goldfish Ernestine receives for her 17th birthday, and how he is cursed (or blessed) for his three-second memory. “3-2-1-boom!” the actors repeat over and over from behind his bowl at the dining room table.

Early on we see Ernestine’s son call his dad a “shadow in a suit posing as a man,” and we chuckle when, a few decades later, his daughter does the same to him. At poignant moments in her life, Ernestine repeats lines from a high school play she starred in. There are numerous references to the idea of being the string to someone’s kite. When life moves quickly and the world around you is constantly changing, it feels good to be met with these predictable, enduring consistencies and to find joy in the simplicities of life.

Marking time in motion

So, how do we keep track of all this time hopping? Another bold formatting choice: Each shift in time is marked by a shimmering wash of blue and green light, accompanied by a delicate tinkling sound. Most of these transitions come at the end of scenes and linger as the cast resets. But occasionally they arrive in rapid succession mid-scene. When this happens, the characters subtly adjust their positions and repeat actions, showing how traditions take shape over time.

The entire cast brings a warmth and sincerity to their characters that allows the audience to quickly become invested in them and their role in Ernestine’s story. Almost all the actors play multiple characters, with Karen Slack notably spanning three generations as Ernestine’s mother, daughter and great granddaughter. Ernestine’s son Billy (Rodney Lizcano) evolves convincingly from rebellious teenager to steady family man to a grandfather facing cognitive decline.

Of particular note is Brian Landis Folkins’ portrayal of Ernestine’s childhood friend and neighbor Kenneth who, while not a member of the family, is an essential part of her annual birthday traditions, even if she didn’t realize it. Their chemistry is endearing — he the bumbling but thoughtful nerd; she the confident, self-deceiving friend — and it is a joy to watch them maintain their relationship across decades.

Gabriella Cavallero and Brian Landis Folkins in ‘Birthday Candles.’ | Photo: Amanda Tipton Photography

When time starts to outrun the moment

Things move so fast in Birthday Candles that our fleeting glimpses of Ernestine’s life with these people are barely long enough to fully appreciate doleful moments like the passing of her daughter, the dissolution of her marriage, or the realization of her son’s mental deterioration. But they are acknowledged, even amidst the ongoing celebrations, and it’s hard not to notice that as Ernestine continues to age, the sad moments start to outnumber the happy ones.

There is, however, a sense of renewal. Despite having no intermission, the 90-minute play still manages to capture Ernestine’s “second act” in life as she finds love again, builds a business, and travels the world.

When it finally clicks

At the beginning of the show, I’m not sure if I’m enjoying it. “Are they just going to just bake a cake the whole time?” I think to myself. Watching Ernestine and her mom run lines for that play she starred in, the dialog comes at me so quickly that I worry I am not following correctly. When the first wash of green and blue light falls across the stage and her mom exits not backstage but down into the audience as a way of signaling her death, I don’t really “get” what is happening.

But after a couple of cycles, and enough contextual clues about just how much time has passed between scenes, it starts to come together. And once I understand what is happening, I start to find the same comfort as Ernestine in the predictability of what is coming, which allows the unpredictability of life to stand out in contrast when it shows up. It’s a whirlwind of a show, both narratively and emotionally, and an especially compelling approach to storytelling that turns the simple act of watching a play into a novel, thought-provoking experience.