STAGE WEST: "Birthday Candles" at North Coast Repertory Theatre

James Newcomb and Margot White in "Birthday Candles."                                  Photo by Aaron Rumley

            For Ernestine Ashworth, 90 years elapse in 90 minutes.
            That’s the math of Noah Haidle’s “Birthday Candles,” a sweet yet sad portrayal of one woman’s life cycle.
            Sad because Haidle’s play is a reminder that even if one lives to be over 100, as Ernestine does, life is all too short. I tried to remain upbeat during this production of “Birthday Candles” at North Coast Repertory Theatre, and there’s plenty of comedic snappiness built into the script. But ultimately it’s sobering to take in that Ernestine, played with a natural grace and dignity by Margot White, keeps having birthdays while everyone around her passes away. The recurring image of her in her kitchen, baking that year’s celebratory cake, goes from joyous to poignant to practically devastating as the decades fly by.
            Haidle has said that his idea for “Birthday Candles” stemmed from learning that the memory span of a goldfish is only three seconds’ long. A goldfish in a bowl is literally onstage the entire show as if to remind us of not so much the brevity of its memory but of life itself.
            The heaviness of “Birthday Candles’” message is lightened, at least for the first half of the play, by Ernestine’s interactions with her Grand Rapids family – husband Matt (Martin Kildare), son Billy (Matthew Grondin) and daughter Madeline (who briefly changes her name to “Athena”), played by Katie Karel. Matt’s rather a bore, Billy’s anything but affable, and “Athena’s” depressed, but ever-calm Ernestine weathers every storm.
            Unlike the others in her circle, Ernestine is a deep thinker – she longs to know her place in the universe. At the same time, she’s grounded enough to navigate all the foibles of her family. This is a delicate balance for any actor. At North Coast Rep, White makes it work, makes us see inside her, makes us give a damn about Ernestine when perhaps no one else matters.
            Almost no one else. James Newcomb, who’s grand in the part, is an endearing presence as Kenneth, the earnest if awkward neighbor who’s loved Ernestine since they were children and who never misses a birthday party, gift in arms. Kenneth will become a much more significant figure in Ernestine’s life later on, which is bound to please audiences.
            Over the years that pass, Ernestine’s birthdays are visited by an extended family, with Karel, Kildare and Emelie O’Hara playing multiple roles. Dramas and melodramas intervene, as they will during most long lives. Ernestine, the dreamer and the rock, survives.
            To its credit, “Birthday Candles,” directed by David Ellenstein, manages Ernestine’s aging without silly props or makeup. White will eventually don spectacles or walk more tentatively or speak more haltingly, but no stage tricks are employed.
            There’s a sense as the play winds toward its conclusion that everything, including Ernestine, is shrinking. Even the snappy dialogue. Getting old is serious business, folks.
            For me, White’s beautiful performance transcends the play itself, which can feel a bit soppy. Its best scene actually is its very last, but maybe that’s how it should be.
            You may leave wondering about your own place in the universe. You may leave reminded that every moment we’ve got is precious. Either way, “Birthday Candles” will have done its job.
            “Birthday Candles” runs through June 29 at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach.