{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreig3guzf2zt62enaol6lri476ycc3foi3mwu2jol3fkyju2ax4ul4y",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:3kdx4fcs5ovva3mibjegdrbs/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhe2zwm3isw2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreifupiuuanrm52jaq7tksyz4ovv3pehsbpwoc7wb6hod262vtxu63q"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 228445
  },
  "description": "Life goes on, like a flash — in this poignant production, 85 years fly by. Performances continue through March 22.",
  "path": "/birthday-candles-wichita-community-theatre/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-18T18:01:26.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.shoutwichita.com",
  "tags": [
    "Learn more and purchase or reserve tickets online",
    "Derby man has the kind of voice that turns heads — and chairs",
    "Socializing while sober: how some Wichitans are cultivating alcohol-free communities",
    "Bygone Friends University museum housed curious collections",
    "**Click here to support our work with a tax-deductible donation**",
    "Yes! I want to support the SHOUT"
  ],
  "textContent": "Ernestine Ashworth’s life flashes by in an instant.\n\nMoments turn into years, which turn into her whole life — all within the confines of her kitchen.\n\nSet in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Noah Haidle’s contemplative “Birthday Candles” follows characters seeking their purpose in the universe throughout the ever-changing sea of life, as seen through vignettes of one woman’s birthdays from 17 to 102.\n\nIn her Wichita Community Theatre directing debut, Angela Forrest delivers a poignant and humble show. The tone is realistic, and all the components — the set, lighting, costuming, and actors — play into a heartfelt production. “Birthday Candles” will be on stage through March 22.\n\nMichele Janssens is Ernestine, a reflective and excitable character desperately seeking time to slow down. The show begins on her 17th birthday, when she contemplates her “rightful place in the cosmos.” Ernestine’s mother, played by Ashley McCracken, calms and affirms her daughter, guiding her to focus on the consistent parts of her life, helping make her birthday cake and taking her measurements on the wall — shoes off, of course.\n\nThen, whoosh, lights flicker, birthday candles are blown out, and it's her 18th birthday. Her mother is gone. Now she has to figure out life on her own and carry on the family tradition. But life goes on, like a flash.\n\nJoshua Rosenberg as the ever-attentive Kenneth brings Ernestine one of several birthday gifts. __Courtesy photo by Grant Seymour for Wichita Community Theatre.__\n\nOn Ernestine’s 18th birthday, we meet her main love interests: Kenneth (Joshua Rosenberg) and Matt (Nathan Betzen). Though he is delightful, Kenneth’s infatuation is a little obsessive. He comes in uninvited, almost always with a gift.\n\nHis first gift is a goldfish, Atman, that becomes a stable, unchanging character in Ernestine's life. As Ernestine moves through life, she replaces Atman, adding a number to his name each time. In contrast to Ernestine, constantly worrying about the future, Atman, with his notoriously short memory, is incapable of worry and serves as a foil for Janssens’ character.\n\nMatt is the opposite of Kenneth: chill, unassuming, and passive. Although both ask her to the prom, Matt eventually won Ernestine’s bid for the dance. They later marry and start a family.\n\n## Our free email newsletter is like having a friend who __always__ knows what's happening\n\nGet the scoop on Wichita’s arts & culture scene: events, news, artist opportunities, and more. Free, weekly & worth your while.\n\nSubscribe\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\nNo spam. Unsubscribe anytime.\n\nHaidle’s script often repackages character traits, behaviors, and phrases throughout the characters, reflecting the immersion and repetition that often happens in life. A mighty team of six actors tackles a combined 12 roles, Janssens and Rosenberg playing individual ones and the others playing members of different generations in the family. The actors — notably McCracken, Hanson Long, and Miranda Windholz — are masterful at balancing the shifts between characters.\n\nAs Ernestine, Janssens’ characterization is impressive. Without ever leaving the stage, she makes the shift between years feel like nothing, creating seamless transitions between the light and sound cues to play Ernestine in different stages of her life. She never hesitates, bouncing through Ernestine’s emotions, posture, and desires at different times in her life.\n\nHigh school sweethearts Ernestine and Matt (Nathan Betzen) eventually marry and start a family. __Courtesy photo by Grant Seymour for Wichita Community Theatre.__\n\nThere were a few opening weekend flubs, e.g. sound cues not matching with lights during the shifts in time. The suspension of disbelief, especially towards the beginning of the play, could be broken ‌because of the age discrepancies between the actors and their characters. But these bring a distinct charm as you follow the characters’ growth. On the other end of the life spectrum, the actors portrayed aging convincingly.\n\nThe script is technical, demanding that actors not only interact casually with their co-stars but recite dense monologues of abridged Shakespeare or discuss the meaning of life and the universe. During some poignant monologues, Rosenberg had some minor fumbles, but he quickly recovered.\n\nAlong with characterization, costuming and set additions add visual cues for the audience. Ernestine gains a growing number of accessories and additions around her kitchen that show the passage of time.\n\nThe kitchen set is nostalgic and familiar, with a mix of saturated warm tones and rich wood. It feels like a classic American family kitchen — a single window, a white fridge splayed with photos, and, of course, the island counter where the birthday cake is made.\n\nJanssens, Windholtz, and Hanson Long masterfully balance the shifts between characters and transitions to new eras of life. __Courtesy photo by Grant Seymour for Wichita Community Theatre.__\n\nThe costuming is subtle, with everyday clothes. With only six actors, clothing is often the clue to the audience about which character is which, especially with McCracken and Windholz playing three separate characters.\n\nErnestine wears a simple dress, fitted with a red turtleneck and red tights, showcasing her fiery and passionate nature. On her 18th birthday, she begins to wear her mother's apron.\n\nIn “Birthday Candles,” Ernestine’s cycle of life repeats, though the people in her life change. Over more than 80 years, she bakes her birthday cake. Each vignette follows a similar pattern, with subtle changes throughout time. A butter cake made every year. A goldfish replaced. A party with family. A question deep inside: Am I doing the right thing?\n\nEveryone, even if they don’t know it, is searching for their place in the universe, but “Birthday Candles” shows that sometimes it’s right in front of you, even as life flashes by. Wichita Community Theatre's production demonstrates that time goes on — and that even through loss and grief, life is meaningful.\n\n## The Details\n\n**Wichita Community Theatre presents \"Birthday Candles\"**\nMarch 19-22 at Wichita Community Theatre, 258 N. Fountain St. in Wichita\n\nCurtain times are 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sundays.\n\nGeneral admission tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for seniors, students, and active members of the military. All tickets are $16 for Thursday performances. Accessible seating is available.\n\nLearn more and purchase or reserve tickets online.\n\n* * *\n\n_**Taliyah Winn** is a senior studying political science and journalism at Wichita State, where she serves as the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper The Sunflower, leading a team of more than 40 student journalists to cover news for the WSU community. _\n\n****Popular Reads****\n❋ Derby man has the kind of voice that turns heads — and chairs\n❋ Socializing while sober: how some Wichitans are cultivating alcohol-free communities\n❋ [As a small creative business closes, the owner mourns\n](https://www.shoutwichita.com/the-sewing-center/)❋ [Painting through it: Autumn Noire on 20 years of making art\n](https://www.shoutwichita.com/autumn-noire/)❋ [How a guy from Wichita resurrected 'Dawn of the Dead'\n](https://www.shoutwichita.com/leif-jonker-dawn-of-the-dead/)❋ Bygone Friends University museum housed curious collections\n\n## Support Kansas arts writing\n\nThe SHOUT is a Wichita-based independent newsroom focused on artists living and working in Kansas. We're partly supported by the generosity of our readers, and every dollar we receive goes directly into the pocket of a contributing writer, editor, or photographer. **Click here to support our work with a tax-deductible donation****.**\n\nYes! I want to support the SHOUT",
  "title": "A lifetime’s worth of 'Birthday Candles' at Wichita Community Theatre",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-18T18:01:27.041Z"
}