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“90 years in 90 minutes,” proclaims the synopsis of “Birthday Candles.” The play, currently showing in the Maui Academy of Performing Arts’ Living Room Theater, actually runs a little longer than 90 minutes, and covers much more ground than 90 years.

Birthday parties and cake-baking form the setting, but this show is far from frivolous or fluffy (though there are plenty of laughs throughout). Instead, like last season’s “Cages or Wings,” “Birthday Candles” is a poignant, sometimes painful, yet ultimately uplifting examination of ordinary life.

The play opens in the modest kitchen of a Grand Rapids, Mich., home, with a mother and teenage daughter baking a birthday cake. As the audience watches Ernestine Ashworth (Kirsten Otterson) age from a 17-year-old rebel to a 107-year-old great-grandmother, we are treated to the highlights and heartaches of her life. As the playbill states, five generations, an infinity of dreams and one cake baked over a century.

Yes, Kirsten as Ernestine really does bake a cake onstage. The familiar, comforting aroma is one of the devices that director David C. Johnston cleverly employs to welcome the audience into Ernestine’s life and make us feel at home, as if we are part of the family.

Written by Noah Haidle just five years ago, the play was scheduled to open on Broadway in April 2020 but was delayed for two years by COVID. It finally ran from March 18 to May 29, 2022, starring Debra Messing as Ernestine.

Without having seen the Broadway production, I’d still bet that Kirsten’s performance matched or surpassed Ms. Messing’s, because Kirsten is flawless in this extremely challenging role. Her castmates — Paul Jackel, Leighanna Locke, Elisha Cummins, Mehra Park and Jefferson Davis — are equally engaging and genuine.

Remarking on the script, Chicago Tribune reviewer Chris Jones wrote, “‘Birthday Candles’ is precisely why people go to the theater … (The play) is about mental health, mortality and survival, about risking your heart, and finding your place … It’s a personal piece but you’d swear it was about you.”

Director Johnston, who has served as MAPA’s artistic director for over 30 years, chose “Birthday Candles” not only because he loves a challenge (imagine directing a show that spans nearly a century, with no intermission and no set changes), but because the show fits his own strong beliefs about the role of theatre:

“Theatre brings us face to face with humanity, creating a bridge across barriers that arbitrarily divide us: economic disparity, religious beliefs, racial and cultural prejudices. And once we cross that bridge, it connects us and invites us to celebrate the human spirit and collectively create a shared vision for a healthy community.”

Now, more than ever, we need to make the time to celebrate the human spirit and work toward that vision.

“Birthday Candles” runs for just one more weekend, with 7:30 p.m. shows this Friday and Saturday, and a Sunday matinee at 3:00 p.m. Go to mauiacademy.org for tickets and further information.

* Kathy Collins is a radio personality (The Buzz 107.5 FM and KEWE 97.9 FM/1240 AM), storyteller, actress, emcee and freelance writer whose “Sharing Mana’o” column appears every other Wednesday. Her email address is kcmaui913@gmail.com.

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