Why the Springer brought to Columbus this sexual, risque play about a controversial issue

It’s one of the most risqué shows in the 151 seasons at the Springer Opera House.

But those producing this play at the historic State Theater of Georgia hope the audiences benefit from exploring a controversial issue while also being entertained.

“You always want the dramatic literature that you’re working with to not just engage audiences but hopefully help them think a little bit differently about the world as they’re walking out the door,” Springer producing artistic director Paul Pierce told the Ledger-Enquirer.

“The Cake,” which debuted in New York off-Broadway in 2019, was written by Bekah Brunstetter, who worked on NBC’s hit TV series “This is Us” as a writer, editor and producer.

The play is inspired by the 2012 dispute at a Colorado bakeshop, where the owner rejected a gay couple’s order for a wedding cake. Fulfilling the request, the owner said, would violate his religious beliefs. After the Colorado Civil Rights Division ruled that violated anti-discrimination laws, the Supreme Court ruled in the owner’s favor, protecting his decision under the First Amendment.

Brunstetter’s play is set in North Carolina. Adding more diversity to the story, the couple seeking the wedding cake not only are lesbians but also interracial.

And the icing on this story: The daughter of the bakery owner’s deceased best friend is the one asking for that wedding cake.

“They spend the entire play trying to seek common ground — and they find it,” Pierce said. “Wouldn’t we like all of our societal challenges to play out that way? It’s a great play that I think works for our time.”

All of which provides plenty of tension for drama, but this play drips with comedy as well.

Provocative scenes

The loudest laughs in the audience Saturday night came during the two most provocative scenes.

As the bakery owner struggles to decide whether to make the lesbian couple’s cake, she also laments her dormant sex life with her husband, a plumber.

So she surprises him with a ruse. She asks him to come to the bakery to fix a busted water pipe. Instead, she appears to be topless behind the counter, with what seems to be only a slathering of frosting covering her breasts — and invites him to lick them clean.

Later, in their bedroom, he returns the favor by inviting her for a sexually creative use of mashed potatoes under the covers, unseen by the audience.

The remaining performances of “The Cake” in the Springer’s Dorothy McClure Theatre, 1016 First Ave., are April 27, 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. and April 30 at 2:30 p.m.

In addition to the story’s sexual content, the script includes vulgar words, so the Springer’s publicity about the show recommends the play for ages 16 and older.

“We made it clear from the moment we announced the play that this is for grownups,” Pierce said.

That’s why it isn’t being performed on the Springer’s main stage.

“The Studio Series is the place at the Springer Opera House in our program where we can do and do do some risky material,” Pierce said.

Audience reaction

Tickets sales have been “going quite well,” Pierce said. “It’s doing pretty much what we expected it to. The great thing about it is the audience response has just been tremendous.”

Pierce recalled hearing laughter throughout the show on opening night. Then, at the end of the play, when the lights came up, he said, “I looked around, and all around me, people were wiping their eyes, men and women.”

The feedback the Springer has received from the audiences has been all positive, said the production’s director, Springer company manager Rebecca Gossett.

After the matinee Sunday, Gossett said, the Springer conducted a talk-back session for the audience to express their opinions and ask questions about the show.

“We had members of Chattahoochee Valley Pride there with us, who asked some fantastic questions and had great responses,” Gossett told the L-E. “We also had people share that they were conservative, Christian, and also loved the show.

“Those people connected with each other in that moment and got to have a conversation about the show in a way that was full of hope and respect for each other, and it was everything we wanted from the show: that it would start a conversation between people who have some different points of view.”

Such a result was part of Pierce’s vision when he booked the play.

“I have a great faith in humanity,” he said. “… We know that sometimes our best intentions aren’t met 100% of the time, but we have to approach art that we share with a pure heart and let the chips fall where they may.

“We are always searching for what Martin Luther King called the beloved community, and that’s all we can do. We love the love that is shared in this play, and we love the world in which the outcome of this play can be realized.”