BIRTHDAY CANDLES is Coming to People’s Light This Spring
Performances will run from April 5 – May 1.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Mar. 31, 2025
People’s Light is continuing its 50th Anniversary Season with Birthday Candles, a heartwarming and thought-provoking play by Noah Haidle, running April 5 – May 1, 2025, on the Steinbright Stage. This poetic and imaginative work follows one woman’s journey through the decades, marking the passage of time with each birthday she celebrates.
Directed by Executive Artistic Director Emeritus and acclaimed director Abigail Adams, Birthday Candles stars Company Artist Teri Lamm as Ernestine Ashworth, a woman who begins the play as a rebellious teenager and, over the course of 90 minutes, ages into her twilight years—without ever leaving her kitchen. As the years unfold, Ernestine bakes the same birthday cake, reflecting on love, loss and the meaning of existence.
Birthday Candles marks the 10th collaboration between Adams and Lamm; past productions include The Cherry Orchard, Mornings At Seven, Trip To Bountiful, Auctioning The Ainsley’s, The Matchmaker, Our Town, Lettie, Vinegar Tree and Shakespeare’s Will.
Lamm is joined by a dynamic cast of Company Artists and local favorites, including Kevin Bergen as Kenneth; Claire Inie-Richards as Alice & others; Ian Merrill Peakes as Matt & others; Jacob Orr as Billy & others; and Julianna Zinkel as Joan & others.
"As we celebrate 50 years of People’s Light, Birthday Candles is a perfect story for this milestone moment," says Zak Berkman, Producing Artistic Director. "It’s a beautiful meditation on time, family, and legacy—reminding us of the fleeting nature of life and the profound impact of seemingly small moments. It invites us to cherish our past while embracing the future, which is at the heart of our anniversary season."
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