Two Strangers Carry A Pod!

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Broadway Show: Uncut

Episode: Two Strangers Carry A Pod!

Date: May 27, 2026
Host: Tamsen Fadal
Guests: Sam Tutty, Christiani Pitts, Jim Barn, Kit Buchan
Theme: In-depth look at the new Tony-nominated musical "Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York"—its story, Broadway journey, creative process, and heartfelt love letter to New York.

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode dives into the Tony-nominated musical Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York, speaking with its stars (Sam Tutty and Christiani Pitts) and creators (Jim Barn and Kit Buchan). The central discussions include the musical’s unique narrative, its resonance with New Yorkers, the collaborative artistry behind it, and what makes this show a standout during Tony season.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sam Tutty on Broadway, NYC Culture Shock, and Character Insight

• Sam Tutty shares the journey from performing in London to originating his role in New York, expressing deep gratitude for NYC audiences and their reactions.

• Discusses Dougal’s adoration for New York versus co-star Christiani Pitts' character Robin, who offers pragmatic local perspective.

  "The reaction from the audience, you can tell it's tourists who love the city or New Yorkers who love the city...from Robin's perspective...she really represents the New Yorker...and then there's my character Dougal, who just reveres the city."
  — Sam Tutty (00:36)

• Notes on “getting” New York humor for the first time:

  "Kit Buchan, our writer, has written so many jokes that during my time in London did not know were meant to be funny and the only sort of resident New Yorkers could laugh at...Then the rest of my brain was just sniffing out the rest of those jokes."
  — Sam Tutty (01:17)

• Favorite New York moments: surviving an “insane” winter, and discovering Central Park as an oasis.

• Emphasizes the strong trust and rapport with co-star Christiani Pitts, vital for a two-person show.

  "There could not be any room for sort of any animosity there. And if there is, we talk about it. ...That's literally the key product into what the audience sees."
  — Sam Tutty (03:30)

• Broadway as community: the camaraderie and shared understanding among actors.

2. Christiani Pitts on Audience Reactions, Cake, and Life as a New Mom

• Describes audience surprise at the show’s mix of humor and emotional depth:

  "I think people leave surprised about just how hard they laughed and, like, the release that they had...It's silly. It's serious. At the same time. It's...gut reaction."
  — Christiani Pitts (07:00)

• Reflects on audition experience and being instantly hooked by the script—so much so that she didn’t realize she’d only read half!

• Explains the tight focus of the two-hander (only her and Sam on stage), supported by an on-stage band that adds to the experience.

• Sums up the story:

  "Both of these people are going through things in their life that seem small to them but are huge in retrospect, and they sort of help each other get through it in just 36 hours. And I feel like New York is such a city where things like that happen."
  — Christiani Pitts (09:36)

• Sweet behind-the-scenes detail: Magnolia Bakery provides the stage cake, which Christiani happily eats at every performance.

• Shares life offstage—balancing new motherhood with writing a TV series about her parents’ dramatic early relationship in 1980s Miami.

3. Jim Barn & Kit Buchan on Writing, Inspiration, and Bringing London to NYC

• Urge audiences to enter the show with minimal spoilers; the title itself gives a lot away.

• Discuss the creative tension of bringing a “mythic outsider’s” version of New York to the real city and presenting it to native New Yorkers.

  "We'd only been here as tourists...our show is told from the perspective of somebody who has a rose tinted image of...New York."
  — Kit Buchan (14:24)

• The musical draws from film inspirations (notably the Before Sunrise/Sunset trilogy), and intentionally centers “two quite unimportant people not doing anything especially magnificent,” subverting musical theater norms.

• Musical inspiration includes The Band’s Visit, with an emphasis on small emotional fluctuations, various musical genres (country, bluegrass, trap, 80s ballads), and a pop-rock backbone.

  "With a comedy song, what you're really trying to do is create an atmosphere...We’ve got loads of different genres, but I think the...emotional core...is more like a pop rock score."
  — Jim Barn (19:54)

• Reflection on the realities vs. fantasies of both London and New York.

• Analyze differences in theater culture: London’s “museum” feel vs. New York’s “lived-in” community; musical theatre’s celebratory status in NYC vs. apologetic in the UK.

  "Here [in NYC], it's celebrated...Nobody's apologetic about musicals here and nor should they be."
  — Kit Buchan (26:34)

• Powerful, moving sense of wonder at seeing their names up on a Broadway marquee—never imagining the show would get here.

  "There's a part of me that hasn't really metabolized that reality...We never imagined it. Never."
  — Kit Buchan (27:35)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On finally “getting” New York humor:

  "...when I finally heard the laughter...then the rest of my brain was just, like, sniffing out, like, the rest of those jokes, you know, and just. It was just incredible."
  — Sam Tutty (01:50)

• On eating cake on stage:

  "You do you think at some point you'd be like, I think I've had enough. I'mma eat, I'mma eat it. I'm going to eat the cake."
  — Christiani Pitts (10:32)

• On the emotional core of the show:

  “We wanted to write a musical about two quite unimportant people not doing anything especially magnificent. ...You could write about the small emotional fluctuations of two strangers, and those fluctuations could be moving enough to merit song.”
  — Kit Buchan (17:49)

• On New York’s mythic status:

  "New York as a city is a mythical city, a bit like Oz or...Caer Paravel... with the added detail that it happens to exist in real life."
  — Kit Buchan (13:03)

• On the wonder of making Broadway:

  "Seeing the theater sort of surrounded by all of these shows that we absolutely adore. Yeah, it's so, yeah, it's baffling, but it's also, yeah, obviously, incredibly moving."
  — Jim Barn (28:03)

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:36: Sam Tutty on performing in New York and connecting with local audiences
• 01:17: Discovering New York nuance in the script and humor that only lands with New Yorkers
• 03:30: Building trust and partnership between co-stars
• 04:07: Sam’s experience surviving winter and finding solace in Central Park
• 05:48: The sense of community and camaraderie on Broadway
• 06:36: Christiani Pitts reflects on the show’s effect on audiences
• 09:36: Premise of Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York explained by Christiani
• 10:45: Behind-the-scenes detail: Magnolia Bakery provides cake for every show
• 11:10: Christiani on new motherhood and writing family history for TV
• 12:22: Creative team (Barn & Buchan) on embracing mystery and audience expectations
• 14:24: Their “tourist’s love” for New York shaping the show’s tone
• 17:49: Artistic ambition—“gently radical” approach to musical theater
• 19:54: The broad musical palette and pop-rock foundation
• 21:14: Rom-com tropes, archetypes, and the show's playful subversions
• 23:44: Christmas/winter inspirations and NYC’s “festive” atmosphere
• 26:34: Differences between London and New York’s theater communities
• 27:35: Emotional impact and disbelief of seeing their Broadway debut

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Conclusion

"Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York" stands as a funny, heartfelt, and inventive two-hander—celebrating the city’s mythos, blending outsider awe with native authenticity, riffing on rom-com traditions, and embracing the emotional nuance that makes everyday life worthy of song. The creative team’s reverence for Broadway and genuine partnership mirrors the show’s own themes of connection and transformation, making this episode a must-listen for theater lovers and anyone interested in the magic behind Broadway’s newest sensation.

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Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Broadway show Uncut. I'm Tamsen Fadal. It's Tony season and on this episode we're talking about the new musical Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York. It's up for eight Tony Awards, including Best New Musical, plus nominations for both of its stars. I'm talking of both of them, Sam Tutty and Christiani Pitts. And later, you'll hear from the Tony nominated creative team, Jim Barn and Kit Buchan. But first, here's my interview with Tony nominee Sam Tutty. How has it been with the show and being in New York these last six months?

[B]

It's so surreal, especially from my perspective of doing this show in London, but now doing it in New York, it just really feels like. It sounds a bit cringey, but it does feel like the show's like home now. It really, the reaction from the audience, you can tell it's tourists who love the city or New Yorkers who love the city because the story's amazing. Because from Robin's perspective, Christiane Pitts's character, Robin, she really represents the New Yorker. But within that is like the realisms and the sort of obstacles that New York presents, you know, whether it's rent or prices and whatever. And then there's my character Dougal, who just reveres the city. And so there's the best of both worlds coming into it. Yeah.

[A]

Now, are you. Did you learn all of these problems? Like, do you agree with some of that?

[B]

I now fully, now, only now do I understand the script completely. Do you know what I mean? Because Kit Buckin, our writer, has written so many jokes that during my time in London did not know were meant to be funny and the only sort of resident New Yorkers could, could laugh at. And then we did our first dress run way back when last year, and it just, there were laughs where I was, I was happy to just blitz through the script just. But they would laugh. I was like, oh my gosh. And it just, I just fully felt, finally connected.

[A]

So what are some of the ones that you have experienced firsthand?

[C]

You have to be.

[B]

The one specifically that comes to mind is, oh, but you're from New York, so you've probably got the Statue of Liberty all the time. And it's just like. And it's like, obviously when I think about it for more than one second, if that was about London, London, you're from London, you got the Big Ben all the time, it's like, no. And that's. I just think. And when I finally heard the laughter, I just Then the rest of my brain was just, like, sniffing out, like, the rest of those jokes, you know, and just. It was just incredible.

[A]

I love that you're like, now I get it.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And it was really an odd experience because I'd been with the show for. For such a long time. Well, such a long time. Like, you know, a year, basically, from then I'd been involved with the production, and so it was just so weird, like something that I thought I once knew really well. It's just this whole other side that America and New York and New Yorkers have allowed me to see. So I'm very grateful.

[A]

I love that New Yorkers will let you know, too, right?

[B]

Oh, they will, they do, they do. Good and bad. No, it's just. It's been. They love it. They love it. They really do. It's a real love letter to New York, this show. We're really proud of it.

[E]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

For somebody who has not seen the show, can you just. Can you sum it up for me?

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

It's essentially about two unlikely strangers. Dougal is flying to America to see his estranged father, and he's met at the airport by the sister of the bride. So these two people come into contact with one another and it's a sort of a story over two days about how they change each other's lives in a very unlikely, unorthodox way. A very unexpected. And it's very funny, it's very sad. There's a lot of beautiful moments where we really love to just move the audience into what you think you're getting is not that at all. So it really is. For an actor, specifically, it's just such an amazing role because you just do everything in the show. It's fantastic.

[A]

And, of course, the two of you together have to be inseparable at this point, right?

[B]

No, we've got a lot of love for each other. Yeah. There's just a lot of trust, a lot of respect. It's just what we're doing. We just. There could not be any room for sort of any animosity there. And if there is, we talk about it. Do you know what I mean? It's so lovely. It's just such a healthy, safe, trusting space. And that's that those ingredients are literally the key product into what the audience sees that sort of love these two characters, you know, the way that they start to love each other and trust each other comes from me and Cristiano really trusting each other and really enjoying each other's company.

[A]

Favorite part of New York, right? Now after being here six whole months.

[B]

Yes. Well, I survived, as you can tell. I survived the winter.

[D]

Did you?

[B]

As from a Brit, that's literally insane. Because at one point.

[F]

Really?

[A]

Is it hard?

[B]

It was for me. Obviously, you guys work in Fahrenheit. I don't know what Fahrenheit is, but, like, for me, it was negative 15 degrees Celsius, which was at one point colder than the Antarctic.

[A]

Really?

[B]

That was, like, one day. So it was like. It was well below freezing, and it was horrendous. And I just felt like the city was out to get everyone, you know, it was like, what are you doing outside? What are you doing? So now that it's warming up, as you can see, at Central park is just this safe haven. It's just. You can just get lost in it. And I literally did get lost in it, and it's just amazing. There's so. There's so many things that are, like, now thawing out.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

And this city just becomes like this playground of nooks and crannies that it's just amazing. I'm really enjoying it.

[A]

It's like a happy place again. Right.

[B]

Genuinely. That's exactly it. It really felt like I was, you know, pulling up my collar and, like, putting my hat, and I was like, okay, let's go to work. And now, one day I wore. I wore shorts, if you can believe it.

[A]

Wow. I had the legs.

[B]

Oh, nice. And I said, oh, my God, I can do this show. I can sing. I'm happy to do this show. I'm excited. I have energy. Yeah. It was really surreal.

[A]

Any show you're looking forward to seeing or have seen.

[B]

I have seen. I saw Ragtime give it all to them like they are Joshua Henry. I can't physically even talk about it. I will cry. I saw the Lost Boys the other day. So amazing. There's so many things on. I just think it's so fun to be a show that is so vastly different to those things, because I think that's where. Nothing but a service to the community, you know, the Broadway goers. So I think as much as they can see and just the spectrum of theatre that we can give is just amazing. It's a real gift.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Let's talk about what Broadway means to you.

[B]

I think I love the community of Broadway. That's the thing that I've really learned. And because there's so many things outside of the show that we all, as actors and performers on Broadway, have to do. And it's those people that understand the lifestyle you have to live. And the anxieties we feel. So when someone comes to me and goes, oh, I'm in this show and they're doing the same social thing as me, I immediately know what they've had to do in the morning or what they've had to say no to. You know, I mean, things that really, we're sort of running parallel to each other. So there's that level of camaraderie that I'm really, really, really excited to sort of explore more.

[A]

Now here's my interview with Tony nominee Christiani. Well, it's good to see you.

[C]

It's great to see you. It's been a bit sad to see you. Yeah, it's been a minute.

[A]

But you've been having a good time, right? Oh, yeah.

[C]

Most fun I've ever had on stage, really.

[A]

Okay, so talk about the show. First, the title of the show. Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York. Always makes me kind of smile when I say it. Talk to me about if somebody hasn't seen it, what surprises them and what they should be prepared for.

[C]

I think people leave surprise about just how hard they laughed and, like, the release that they had.

[A]

People.

[C]

The show is described as like a rom com, which I think is sweet to get people there, but it's a little misleading because it's, like, so much more than that. It explores, like, deeper levels of people's humanity, of these. Of these. Of the choices that these people are making. And it's really funny. And I think people leave the show feeling like, I did not know I was gonna laugh that hard. I thought I was gonna have the, like, aww, like, cutesy romantic experience. But it's. It's not that. It's like. It's really. It's silly. It's serious. At the same time, it's. Yeah, I think people are surprised by that, like, gut reaction.

[A]

When you first heard about it, you first came across your. Your desk or your computer or your email. What did you think upon reading it?

[C]

I loved it. I loved it. And I actually. I only read the first half and I didn't know that. I thought I finished the script and so I was on. I read it on the plane on my way to New York for the audition for it, and I finished the script.

[A]

Wait, you read it on the plane on the way to the audition?

[C]

Well, the audition was like, two days later, but I live in Georgia, so I had to fly. Two minutes.

[A]

You had that little amount. I didn't even know that you did it that fast of a turnaround.

[C]

So I got my size memorized. My size. But I hadn't got a chance to read the script until the journey over. And I was like, man, this is good. And in my director meeting, he's talking about the script and I'm like, and I love the open ended nature. Like, I love how it ends. And we don't really know. And he was like, well, no, we do know. It was so good that I only finished half of it and was like, this is one of the best things I've ever read. It's just so. It's so fast and smart and witty. Yeah. So when I read the first half, I was hooked.

[A]

Now it's just the two of you, is that right?

[C]

Just the two of us, yeah.

[A]

So what is that like? I mean, that is a close relationship and you barely leave in the stage or. I don't know if you do or not.

[C]

Yeah, we don't. It's wild. I mean, we're off stage for little, small periods of time. It is only the two of us, but we also have the band on stage, which is awesome because we can work with them. LAUGH. There's a moment in the show where I'm referencing a character who's not there, but our music director pretends to be the character sometimes. So we have like little moments like that. And also the other characters in the show who you don't see are so fleshed out that you feel their presence, you feel their energy. People leave the show having really interesting reactions to the people who aren't even there, which I think is credit to the writers.

[A]

Yeah, it says a lot.

[C]

Yeah. So it is just us too, but the world feels a lot bigger than that.

[A]

And so if somebody has not gone to see the show yet, which they need to do, what is the premise of it to explain?

[C]

It is a show about these two unlikely characters, unlikely to get along. Right, These two strangers who have to be around each other for about 36 hours. I play Robin, who is the sister of the bride, and Dougal is the son of the groom and he's never met his father. I'm supposed to just pick him up to the airport and take him to where he's supposed to be. But he ends up joining me to deliver the cake and chaos ensues. But both of these people are going through things in their life that seem small to them but are huge in retrospect, and they sort of help each other get through it in just 36 hours. And I feel like New York is such a city where things like that happen like life changing experiences and. And then you go on about your day like it never happened. So it's just like magical. 36 hours in the city.

[A]

How much cake have you had since November or when were you in Boston? You were in Boston?

[C]

Oh, we were in Boston over the summer. I've had more cake than I can even talk about. But I eat it every time. You do you think at some point you'd be like, I think I've had enough. I'mma eat, I'mma eat it. I'm going to eat the cake.

[A]

Who provides a cake?

[C]

Magnolia provides her cake.

[A]

Then you cannot eat it.

[C]

It's so good. I think we have a. We're lucky, I think to have like a partnership with them. So I've had my fair share of red velve and I'm down to eat any of the cake that they provide. I'm gonna taste it.

[A]

Any of it's good. And for people listening, you know, Magnolia Bakery here, cupcakes especially, but great. What else do you have going on? I hear you're working on something else too.

[C]

Yeah, well, I'm a mom, a new mom. So I'm working on trying to.

[A]

How's that then?

[E]

It's awesome.

[C]

Yeah, it is so good. She's three. She's really into the change of New York because we were in Georgia for a while. She's really happy, I think to see me doing what I love to do because she sings the songs from the show. She's trying to take my job. So that's been taking majority of my time I'm writing. I have a series that I'm trying to develop that is the story of my mom and dad's meeting and my dad was an upcoming journalist. My mom was a narcotics cop in 1980s Miami. Just a lot. So I'm trying to develop that story and also at the same time just give myself grace because it's a lot.

[A]

Beth Stevens had a chance to chat with a Tony nominated creative team of two strangers, Jim Barn and Kit Buchan.

[F]

Your show, Two Strangers Carry a Cake across New York. Did I get it right?

[D]

Yes.

[F]

It's a long title, very specific, very intriguing. What do audiences need to know before they see this show?

[D]

I think as little as possible. The title is already giving too much away. It's nice to go in not knowing anything. But that title does describe the plot and the plot only takes place over 36 hours. So you don't want to give the game away too much because there's not much plot that's the wrong thing to say, isn't it? It's about two very different people who perforce spend 36 hours together.

[F]

And it's a romantic comedy.

[E]

It is, yeah. Of sorts.

[F]

Of sorts. Well, let's talk about that. You two are bringing a story that takes place in New York City to New Yorkers this time. How does that feel to present this show in New York City?

[D]

It is very thrilling, but it's also an immense responsibility because it feels like even with any musical, this is the most distinguished audience in the world for musical theatre. So bringing any show from out of New York into New York is already a kind of daunting prospect. A show that's set in New York, the responsibility is magnified a thousand times. So there is a certain apprehension. But I also really believe that the version of New York that we've created, along with Tim Jackson, our director, is something that New Yorkers will get a kick out of for a few different reasons, one of which is, I think what we've manifested is a version of the city which pays tribute to how numinous and how enchanting the city is to outsiders, people who live far away, who may never have even been here. The way that we've been thinking about it is New York as a city is a mythical city, a bit like Oz or the Emerald City in Oz, or a bit like Caer Paravel or somewhere, just with the added detail that it happens to exist in real life.

[F]

I mean, it doesn't feel that way on the subway, but I do think that there is a romantic version of New York to people who don't live here. And that seems to be what inspired you to. Because my understanding is that you had not spent a lot of time here when you were writing the show.

[D]

We'd only been here as tourists, you know, so we'd never really lived here. And the story, our show is told from the perspective of somebody who has a rose tinted image of the city of New York. And for him, his name's Dougal, he's a Brit, and for him he's absorbed New York through, primarily through the cinema, but also from music and books. But he's watched and watched again, movies set in New York, which is kind of true of us as well, as I've had to say.

[E]

Yeah, absolutely. And I think probably not. Living in New York was both a help and a hindrance in that. If we were writing a show about London, we probably wouldn't be able to be so sort of in awe of the place because we were able to Just take all the best bits that we were receiving across the sea and sort of make a show about it.

[D]

And our experience of doing this has mirrored the experience of that character. Because if the premise of the story is basically his fantasy of New York butts up against the reality of New York as embodied in the character of Robin, who's a New Yorker. So the sort of quite precipitous learning curve that he goes on, on arrival is mirrored by, I guess, anybody who's watched too many films about New York and then comes here in reality.

[F]

Let's talk about your partnership. You two have known each other for a very long time. You met as children. Tell me what works about your partnership, how it started and how it's going now.

[E]

We met when we were nine at school, and we have been friends ever since, but we've also been collaborators for a very long time. We were in a band together. And so we. You know, I think a working relationship built on a friendship is a really lovely thing because it. It allows you to be kind when you need to be, which is often. But it also allows you to really know each other in a way that aids collaboration, I think.

[D]

Yes. I think when we encounter a lot of people who expect us to have quite a fervid time of it, in terms of. As in, these partnerships are difficult to maintain historically because, I don't know, musical theatre writing partnerships tend to be marriages of convenience, maybe, where it's like, this guy can do music, this guy can do words, let's form a company. Whereas for us, it was more like we just liked hanging out in each other's bedrooms playing songs. So there was a kind of baseline of just enjoying one another's company, which made it easier for us to then, almost without noticing it, turn it into a career.

[F]

Well, I think the other thing about having a partnership or a friendship where you've known each other for a long time is that a lot of your inspiration comes from the same place. You've probably watched films together, you probably obviously talked about music together and played together. So what are some of those inspirations, especially that fed this show?

[E]

Sort of too many to count, I think, probably. But we like to say that the. There's the before trilogy by Richard Linklater, which is similar in some ways.

[F]

That's the Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy.

[E]

Exactly.

[F]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[D]

You know, it.

[E]

Yeah. It takes. The first two films anyway, take place very short period of time, a bit like our show. And they're sort of really two handers. I mean, there are other Characters.

[D]

But there's the guy who dresses as a cow.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

Other than that, it's just the two of them.

[F]

Very important to mention.

[E]

Yes.

[D]

They achieved something that felt like a lot of the time when you set out to write musical theatre when you were young, remember that it's. You have quite lofty ideas about we're going to do a musical, but it's going to be a totally new kind of musical. And over the years you maybe develop a greater respect for the history of the genre. But I think when we set out to do this, we felt that we wanted to do something that was like, gently radical in the sense that we wanted to write a musical about two quite unimportant people not doing anything especially magnificent. And that, at the time felt quite, quite exciting. We sort of had a wager that you could write about the small emotional fluctuations of Two Strangers, and those fluctuations could be moving enough to merit song. And I think we were encouraged in that, certainly by movies like Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, but also along the way, other musicals have appeared in that time that have really kind of granted permission for that kind of approach.

[F]

Were there musicals that inspired you as you were navigating your road on this?

[E]

Yeah. I mean, one of our favorite musicals of all time is the Band's Visit, which similarly doesn't really. I mean, there is a plot, but it's. It's really just a setup and then everything unfolds. And that's kind of the same as our show.

[D]

Yeah. It opens with the line. Band's Visit opens with the line. Not long ago, some Egyptian musicians went to Israel. You probably didn't hear about it. It wasn't very important, which is like such a lovely and again, sort of quietly experimental thing to do in musical theatre, which is traditionally about extremely ambitious people changing the course of history, or not necessarily changing the course of history, but certainly, you know, grabbing Destiny by the horns.

[F]

Well, that has a very specific kind of sound to it. How would you describe your sound and the inspiration and how you, you know, are expressing yourself for this show?

[E]

It's a really good question, I think, maybe, because lots of the songs are comedy songs. We have a huge variety of genres. I think with a comedy song, what you're really trying to do is create an atmosphere. And so you'll. You'll use any genre you can in order to do that. Yeah, we've got sort of country, bluegrass, trap, 80s ballads, big band. We've got loads of different genres, but I think the sort of backbone of the emotional core of the Song of the. Of the score is more like sort of like a pop rock score, really. And we were lucky to collaborate with an orchestrator called Lux Pyramid, who's this wonderful pop musician. He's a producer, composer, and he managed to sort of unify all of these very disparate elements into a score that sort of feels like it's coming from the same place, I think.

[D]

Yeah, we sort of borrowed Lux from a different world altogether. He was. He's a pop producer, like a proper pop producer who had not really worked much in the theatre before, but he had a great appreciation for musical theatre. And so he's brought with him this kind of magic fairy dust from. From the ineffable world of pop, like this environment, you know, Hit Factory kind of feel. He's. He's an encyclopedic kind of pop head, you know, if that makes sense.

[F]

It does make sense, yeah. And also, when you're working with romantic comedy, there are certain tropes that people expect. How did you play with those?

[D]

Well, that's sort of the show in the sense that those films that inspired us in particular, stuff like Sleeps in Seattle, Moonstruck, Crossing De Lancey, When Harry Met Sally, kind of classic New York rom coms, we wanted to sort of challenge some of the expectations there. So we have one character who believes in those and another who decidedly doesn't. And I suppose, hopefully there's a sense that those characters have some slight kind of gravitational influence on one another as they pass through one another's lives. But yes, certainly those. Sometimes we go. We re watch those films quite a lot and sometimes we go back and we're like, oh, wow, we really lifted that. But yeah, that sense of, like, what does it do to the mind to really swallow all of those stories whole? What does it do to you as an adult in terms of your expectations for your own life? And what does it do to you if you're completely allergic to them and you refuse to believe that any element of kind of, I don't know, providence or mystery or serendipity, to quote the name of an actual film, could enter your life? Those stories play an important role. There's something archetypal about them. They're not just fluff. There is something important about romantic comedies because, in fact, everybody, even quite cynical people, are constantly telling themselves a story about their own life and placing themselves at the heart of that story and thinking about what it is in their past that might have brought them here and where it is they might be going. So, yeah, even the most hardened cynic Rom coms have a part to play in their self conception. And I hope that.

[B]

That.

[D]

I hope we play with that in a way that both pleases people who like rom coms and pleases people who are distrustful of them.

[F]

And something that's been amplified, especially lately, is rom coms that are set during the holidays. Everyone loves a cozy love story with twinkly lights. And they're in. So how did you play with that?

[D]

And the posture was red and green and a bit of gold.

[F]

Yes.

[D]

Yeah.

[F]

Yes.

[E]

Well, the show actually, it's funny you mentioned that the show was originally set at Christmas. It's now set on the first weekend of December. So it's not legally a Christmas show.

[F]

But the lights are up.

[E]

But the lights are up.

[D]

We need to sort of distance ourselves from that a bit.

[E]

But certainly it's present and so lots of the musical traditions. What's again, lovely about Christmas music is you get this intergenerational music that's very disparate that everyone kind of knows the songs of. And so we were inspired by that when we were writing the music for this show.

[D]

It's the one bit of the year where there's like a major injection of history into the music that we listen to. It's like all. Suddenly it's Sinatra or Nat King Cole.

[F]

Tall from the past.

[D]

Yeah. And it's a lot of. It's a lot of fun. The show, our story is set around a wedding. So they're both guests at an upcoming wedding. Our two characters. And we were talking about that. It's almost like New York, a wedding, the festive season. All of them offer this kind of. Yeah. Like an elevated emotional atmosphere or something like the city alone even being here. And that's the reality. The reality of New York, not just the fantasy, is so enriched. I mean, if you live here, you might become accustomed to that. But we've been here for a month and it hasn't worn off at all. It's like every second of every day is so enriched with. Yeah, it's just. It's numinous. It's the only word for it.

[F]

So what was your idea of New York versus what your personal reality was when you finally got to spend some real time here? I mean, I don't want to burst your bubble. I just want to, you know.

[E]

Oh, I see.

[F]

You don't have to go through all

[C]

of the reality of it.

[E]

I think some of the really nice things about coming to New York is sort of like the community that you really Find here, like, London often feels like it's not really lived in. It's sort of like a museum or something. But in New York, even right in the center of town, you really feel like people are living here and, you know, they know all the restaurants and these lovely old shops and it just kind of. Yeah, it just really feels lived in

[D]

that sense of a block being a kind of self sufficient, kind of unified community, like you say. And actually the theatre industry, I think London. Oh, God, I'm gonna get in trouble for saying this. I think we like to imagine in London that we have a comparable theatre industry.

[F]

Larger. The West End is much larger than Broadway.

[D]

Larger, spread out.

[F]

And also there are more theaters.

[D]

Yeah, there. Well, hang on, how many Broadway theaters are there?

[F]

36 or so.

[D]

Okay. But there's like four in it. It's not. There's 40 in London.

[F]

Right.

[D]

And it only just went up to 40 because they just built one. But yeah, London's wonderful and obviously I'm from there. I love it. But we found ourselves saying, like, if somebody visits London, I always feel a bit worried because I think they're bringing with them the equivalent fantasy, right? And they're thinking Dickensian cobbled streets and like little weaselly pub, like. Like den. Like pubs where you could get. And you could get lost and there might be, you know, Oliver Twist might pop out from behind a corner at any moment accompanied by Jack the Ripper. But. But like. And so I worry that London is a bit corporate and that people will be disappointed when they come here because it's like London isn't maybe very London.

[F]

That's really funny because as you were talking, I was thinking the same thing about New York. I was thinking, oh, but all the chain stores in the.

[D]

Yeah, but the Dwayne. It's not like London.

[E]

I think compared to London, though, there's

[D]

many more independent businesses here. The theater industry feels like much more welcoming, much more tangible. And I think it's also. Also theatre feels more important here. It doesn't feel like decorative. There is another matter, which is also that musical theatre is frowned upon in the uk and here it's celebrated. So that's a major difference, I guess from our perspective. Nobody's apologetic about musicals here and nor should they be.

[F]

Right.

[D]

But even when you were saying earlier, it's like, oh, it doesn't feel romantic on the subway to us, it kind of does feel romantic. Like even somebody kind of yelling watch. It is part of that in a way that's amazing.

[F]

I think it's just the Outsider's view. Right. So I feel what you described about London, I probably feel more about that way toward the theater there than you do about the theater here. Which brings me to the question, what does it feel like for you with your romantic version of Broadway, to see your name up on a marquee and come and bring a show to Broadway?

[D]

Can I go?

[E]

You go.

[B]

You sure?

[E]

Yes, you go.

[D]

There's a part of me that hasn't really metabolized that reality, basically. I think so. I think even though it' and I've been going into that theater every day, I think there's some part of my psyche that is like, nope, not happening until it's actually happened. And then I can't ignore the fact that it's happening because it feels like we never imagined. I think some people might have been like, one day this show will be on Broadway. We never imagined it. Never. And I think we wouldn't have had the courage to write a show set in New York if we knew it was going to end up here.

[E]

I think it's just seeing the theater sort of surrounded by all of these shows that we absolutely adore. Yeah, it's so, yeah, it's baffling, but it's also, yeah, obviously, incredibly moving.

[A]

That's gonna do it. For this latest episode of the Broadway show Uncut, for tickets to Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York and to see a full list of all the 20, 26 Tony nominees, head on over to Broadway.com until next time, I'm Tamsen Fadal and this is the Broadway show Uncut.