Why Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) Is the Perfect Valentine's Day Date

Valentine's Day this year takes place on a Saturday, which means for people who have a special person, there's no excuse not to celebrate their relationship—from longtime couples, to new love, to steadfast friendships. Valentine's Day is about love in its many forms, so on February 14, why not take in a Broadway show that is also a celebration of all kinds of love and connection? Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is that musical.

The popular musical from Jim Barne and Kit Buchan has been enchanting audiences since it was first produced in 2019 in a small theatre in Ipswich, England. The musical itself is a Cinderella story of sorts, amassing a passionate fan base that has sent the show to the West End and now to Broadway at the Longacre Theatre. In the words of the New York Times, the show "delivers lavishly on the promise of a rom-com: laughter, escape and fantasy." If you need more convincing to get yourself to the Longacre, here are five other reasons to see this musical that contains plenty of love, plenty of wit, and actually not that much cake.

It's Anything But Predictable

Sure, you hear the words rom-com and you might think you know the story: boy meets girl in New York, banter ensues, there's a wedding involved, someone makes a grand gesture, happily ever after. But Two Strangers takes these well-worn rom-com tropes and turns them on their head. An overly optimistic British boy named Dougal (Olivier winner Sam Tutty, giving a so-sweet-it-makes-your-teeth-hurt performance) meets a very jaded New Yorker named Robin (the effortlessly cool Christiani Pitts), and they have a whirlwind weekend in New York together. But this is not a musical based on a movie or a story you've seen before. Two Strangers is entirely original (a rarity in today's Broadway landscape). After its initial setup, you will not be able to predict what happens next—there are twists in this tale and truth bombs that make audiences gasp nightly. We won't tell you where the story goes, but don't worry, it's a heartwarming, funny, and satisfying journey—as comforting and cozy as a warm hug.

To be genuinely surprised is one of the joys of seeing a musical in person, and Two Strangers packs plenty of surprises in its two-plus hour running time.

Its Epic Score

You're not going to a rom-com musical just for the story; you're going for the music! And luckily, Buchan and Barne's pop score more than gets the job done—and the songs are arguably why Two Strangers was a sleeper hit when it first premiered. The score is a series of instant earworms. There's the rousing opening number that sets the scene ("New York"), a laugh-out-loud comedy song about modern dating ("On the App"), a parody of corny Christmas songs ("Under the Mistletoe"), a stunning closer ("If I Believe"), and many more. And any songwriter who can rhyme "geniuses" with "penises" gets an automatic A in our book. You'll leave wanting to listen immediately to the cast album (the London cast album is currently on streaming platforms). Like your favorite Netflix rom-com, the Two Strangers album will be an instant comfort stream.

Don't believe us? See Pitts and Tutty perform some of the musical's songs below in a special outdoor performance.

It's a Love Letter to New York

New York has been the setting for countless films, especially rom-coms. After all, nothing says romance like walks through Central Park and holding hands on the subway. But while other rom-coms stick to Manhattan and its careerists with unrealistically large apartments, Two Strangers is truly special; it showcases the epic sprawl and diversity of real New York. Dougal and Robin meet at JFK Airport, in a set made up of precariously stacked luggage boxes. They then journey down into the subway, through to Queens; all the way to Flatbush, Brooklyn; up high to the Plaza Hotel—Soutra Gilmour's ingenuous set of boxes rotates and opens up, revealing a myriad of secret spaces and locations. An important scene takes place in a restaurant in Manhattan's Chinatown (a place that has hosted many important moments for this particular New Yorker).

Two Strangers is not about the fairy tale New York of the movies; it's about the real New York and its humble and colorful people—a place with a block "where you can pick up whatever you need / $10 shoes, fake nails, a broken record-player / Cuban quesadillas and weed." It's funny because it's true. Two Strangers is a musical for all types of New Yorkers, from the newcomer to the native.

Its Tireless Cast

A rom-com only works if you root for the central couple. Luckily, Two Strangers has the stellar Pitts and Tutty, who have the type of opposites-attract chemistry that makes audiences immediately ask, "Will they, won't they?" The British-born Tutty has been in the show since 2023, and he plays Dougal with such charm that his sweetness and boundless optimism never become cloying—which means the times when Dougal is not smiling or (gasp!) cries will break your heart (there's a reason why Tutty was one of Playbill's favorite Broadway debuts of 2025). While a show just about Dougal would keep the musical, and its New York, in the world of fantasy, Pitts' Robin keeps Two Strangers firmly grounded in the real city that never sleeps. Pitts (whose previous Broadway credit was playing Ann Darrow in King Kong) perfectly captures the ennui of modern-day New Yorkers—many of whom live in the richest city in America but still struggle to get by. Robin's humble, working-class story is one that has rarely been told in a rom-com, and Pitts plays her with such humanity (and a winning wry cynicism) that Robin feels immediately familiar to us longtime New Yorkers.

Not to mention that Pitts and Tutty both have the mammoth task of singing, dancing, and running up and down that obstacle-course of a set for two hours. They make it all look so effortless and easy, filling the space with such big energy that, in this two-person musical, you can't imagine that stage fitting anyone else.

Sam Tutty and Christiani Pitts in *Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)* Matthew Murphy

It's About Love, in All Its Forms

While Two Strangers is marketed as a romance, it's not actually about two people falling in love with each other while delivering a wedding cake (sorry for that little spoiler). But don't worry! Two Strangers is a representation of love in its many forms—there's the love Dougal has for his dad that takes him from England to New York, the love Robin has for her sister that takes her all around the city running errands, the love for strangers that Dougal seemingly has in endless supply, the love Robin has for the city she calls home. But the truest love in the musical is one that its leads discover throughout the musical. Through the pivotal time that they spend together, Dougal and Robin learn more about themselves, how they can each persevere over their complicated past and move forward, and (crucially) how to love themselves.

Two Strangers truly is the ultimate rom-com, because at the end of the day, isn't self love the most important love of all?