Like one of its principal characters, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) originates about as far from the Big Apple as you can get. The charming but attenuated chamber musical by Kit Buchan (book and lyrics) and Jim Barne (music) began its life in Ipswitch, before transferring to the Kiln Theatre, off London’s West End, in 2024. It was enough of a hit to land on the West End proper, and now it’s enjoying a commercial Broadway run at the Longacre.

The show itself often feels as much like a cultural exchange as it does a new musical. It follows the adventures of Dougal (Sam Tutty) and Robin (Christiani Pitts) as they try – and fail – to complete the task outlined in the title. The cake is destined for the wedding of Robin’s sister to Dougal’s father, and neither relationship is exactly easygoing. Dougal hasn’t seen his dad Mark since he was in diapers; Robin’s relationship to Melissa is clearly strained, although the reasons for the tension remain vague. (The show is a two-hander, and these characters are never seen.)

Two Strangers feels at its best when it leans into infectious comedy – think Dougal calling the similarly aged Robin his “auntie” or deploying a litany of pop-culture clichés in the opening number, fittingly called “New York.” When the show attempts to traverse deeper waters – the sorrow beneath Dougal’s sunny disposition or Robin’s general sense of rootlessness as another birthday approaches – the proceedings turn bathetic. At nearly two-and-a-half hours, it also frequently feels too long, and Tim Jackson’s direction can lack focus and snap, especially in book scenes.

Still, the production benefits from the immense charm of Tutty, its original West End star, and the clarion voice of Pitts, who elevates Robin’s sometimes mawkish material. Their voices blend beautifully together, and you find yourself enjoying their charismatic chemistry, even as the show’s momentum starts to fade in the long second act.

The Longacre isn’t one of Broadway’s largest theaters, but I could imagine this working better in a more intimate setting, where the audience feels more keenly that they’re tagging along on the characters’ quixotic journey. Soutra Gilmour’s abstract set, suggesting suitcases and rubble, adds a further distancing effect. Yet even as the musical spins its wheels, Tutty and Pitts give two performances that make a convincing leap from strangers to friends.