Ajaya Kennedy as Ernestine and Adam-Bradley Tisdale as Kenneth in the UTC Theatre Co.’s upcoming production of “Birthday Candles.” Photo courtesy of UTC Theatre Co.
The passage of time takes center stage when the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Theatre Co. presents “Birthday Candles,” its final production of the 2025-26 academic year.
The play follows Ernestine Ashworth across more than eight decades, using a series of birthdays to tell the story of a life shaped by family, relationships and everyday moments. Beginning with her 17th birthday and moving through 90 years, Ernestine’s story unfolds around a single tradition—a cake baked year after year—as five generations come and go.
“Birthday Candles” will take place at 7:30 p.m. from April 14-18 in the Fine Arts Center’s Dorothy Hackett Ward Theatre, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, April 18. Tickets can be purchased online by clicking here and through the UTC Fine Arts Center Box Office—in person or by phone at 423-425-4269. Tickets are $23 for general admission, including service fees, and $18 for students (with proof of student ID) and seniors.
The UTC Fine Arts Center is located at the intersection of Dr. Roland Carter Street (formerly known as Vine Street) and Palmetto Street on the UTC campus. Parking is available in the adjacent Lupton Hall Parking Garage (700 Vine St.).
Written by playwright Noah Haidle, “Birthday Candles” premiered in 2018 and later opened on Broadway in 2022, starring Debra Messing in the lead role.
Told through a series of birthday gatherings, the play returns again and again to Ernestine’s kitchen, where a cake baked from her mother’s recipe anchors the passage of time. As the years unfold, the audience watches Ernestine fall in love, start a family and navigate the milestones and losses that shape a lifetime.
Through these encounters, the story explores how ordinary routines—like baking a cake or celebrating a birthday—help hold a life together even as everything else changes.
The UTC Theatre Co. production is directed by Associate Professor Anne Swedberg, coordinator of UTC’s acting concentration.
“It’s a very sweet play—not saccharin sweet—but it reflects a lot on life, the passage of time and the relationships within families,” Swedberg said. “There’s a sense of continuity in it.”
Swedberg said the structure of the play draws directly from Thornton Wilder’s 1931 one-act play “The Long Christmas Dinner,” a connection playwright Haidle has openly acknowledged after receiving the blessing of the Wilder estate.
“I got a sense of ‘Our Town’—that idea of paying attention to the tiny details of everyday life,” she said, referring to Wilder’s 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play. “Don’t let life just rush on by, but take the time now and then to stay in the moment and appreciate it.”
Theatre education major Ajaya Kennedy takes on the demanding lead role of Ernestine, a character who remains on stage from beginning to end.
Swedberg said Kennedy was cast not only for her performance ability but for how she connects with the rest of the ensemble.
“She never leaves the stage,” Swedberg said. “She is the anchor—the tent pole—and everything moves around her.
“Ernestine is a very loving and nurturing human being, and Ajaya has those qualities just innately. She relates to the other actors and embodies those relationships across the different stages of Ernestine’s life.”
The full “Birthday Candles” cast is comprised of the following UTC students:
- Ajaya Kennedy (Ernestine Ashworth), sophomore, theatre education major
- Ellen Rich (Alice and Alex), senior, theatre entrepreneurship
- Karis Richardson (Madeline and Ernie), sophomore, theatre education
- Karlee Ming Jamieson (Joan and Beth), senior, theatre
- Matthew Patrick (Matt and William), senior, accounting, minor in theatre
- Adam-Bradley Tisdale (Kenneth), senior, studio art and theatre design and technology
- Jayden Brooks (Billy and John), freshman, theatre acting
UTC students on the production crew include:
- Solomon Ledford, stage manager, junior, theatre education
- Emily Griswold, assistant stage manager, junior, theatre design and technology
- Maislynne Payne, assistant stage manager, junior, theatre education
- Lyric Boals, assistant director, sophomore, theatre directing
- Conard Belitz, sound designer, senior, theatre design and technology and humanities
- Eli Nelson, composer for Billy’s piano music, junior, theatre, minor in music composition
In an interview with Concord Theatricals, Haidle was asked what he hopes audiences will take away from seeing “Birthday Candles.”
“The necessity to pay attention to the grace and beauty that reside everywhere in your life, every day,” he said.
For Swedberg, that message is at the heart of the play.
“It’s that idea of paying attention to the tiny details of everyday life,” she said. “Don’t let life just rush on by.”
For more information, visit the UTC Theatre Co. page.
“Birthday Candle” photos courtesy of UTC Theatre Co.
