“Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)” is a valentine to finding connection in the world’s greatest city

Have you ever noticed that there are some things — people, or places, or even ordinary tasks, or whatever — that, when you see them through someone else’s eyes, become wonderful, magical, or just plain happy-making? New York City is one of those things, especially when seen through the eyes of a young Brit making his first trip out of his home country. And that’s the effect that the new musical Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) will have on you.

This new British import, the first musical from co-creators Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, arrived first in Boston at the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard this past spring after playing in London the previous year. This production, directed and choreographed by Tim Jackson, stars Sam Tutty from the original London cast as Dougal, arriving in New York for his long-estranged father’s wedding, wide-eyed and naïve; and Christiani Pitts, from the Boston production, as Robin, the sister of the bride, a jaded and somewhat cynical native New Yorker. 

It’s two days before the wedding. Robin has been tasked with pre-wedding chores by her sister, the first of which is picking up Dougal from the airport and delivering him to his hotel. Dougal, who only knows New York from the movies he’s seen, wants to do everything and go everywhere, viewing Robin as a typical New Yorker who can show him around town. Robin, however, has no intention of acting as Dougal’s tour guide as she has an increasing number of chores to do, including picking up the four-tiered wedding cake and transporting it to her sister, who lives across town from the bakery. But Dougal wants to tag along, and since each tier is in its own box, what could go wrong?

As the day progresses and they get to know more about each other, the two strangers become a pair of co-conspirators. Robin, increasingly frustrated with her bridezilla sister’s lists of “essential” tasks, realizes that she has the groom’s credit card and proposes that she and Dougal go on a spree. The next day brings the wedding, with some of Robin’s cynicism worn down and some of Dougal’s optimistic expectations tempered.

Barne and Buchan’s show is a breath of fresh air. It’s lively and tuneful and fast-paced, a musical whirlwind from the first note of the first song, “New York,” Dougal’s ecstatic but mistaken concept of what it is like to be in a city he knows only from movies and television. We get a feel for the grind of Robin’s day-to-day life in “What’ll It Be?,” as she works at her dead-end coffee shop job.

The two of them explore online dating as he comments on her options in “On the App.” Robin starts to warm up to Dougal in a trio of songs: “Under the Mistletoe,” “Be Happy,” and the exuberant “American Express.” The second act kicks off with the frantic “Hangover Duet,” a morning-after manic song and dance. Robin and Dougal learn more about each other in such songs as “What Did You Say?,” “Dearly Beloved,” and “If I Believed,” and come to their separate self-realizations in her “Next Year” and his “About to Go In.” At no time do the co-creators allow the two strangers’ meet-cute to become a typical, worn-out romantic pairing.

Both actors give standout performances filled with energy and emotional depth. Christiani Pitts allows us to see the protected inner self hidden under a shell of cynicism mixed with a little self-deprecation based on her past choices. Sam Tutty is unbridled optimism, a red-headed puppy taking a long-dreamed-of trip and finding himself on his own journey of self-discovery. 

The scenic design of Soutra GIlmour is a surreal landscape of stacks of steel roll-on luggage forming a New York skyline, whirling clockwise while an outer ring turns counter-clockwise, adding that frenetic sense of motion associated with the Big Apple. The stacks also turn into taxi cabs, Robin’s coffee shop, and even open up to become a deluxe hotel suite.

Tim Jackson has his cast spinning, running, dancing, and climbing around and atop the set, with Jack Knowles’ lighting design and Tony Gayle’s sound design adding dimension to the stage picture. Under the direction of conductor Ted Arthur, the small orchestra, perched on a platform high above the rear of the stage, sounds like they’re having as much fun as the actors.

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is a small but exuberant musical that is sweet and charming without being cloying or clichéd. It is the type of show that gives you that “God damn it, it’s great to be alive!” feeling from the moment you take your seat to the last note of the play-out music. I cannot more strongly urge you to surrender to the charms of the City That Never Sleeps and the adventures of Dougal and Robin as Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)!

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is presented at the Longacre Theatre, 220 West 48th St., in New York. For more information, or to purchase tickets, go to twostrangersmusical.com