By Merryn Johns
The French can visit the baker twice daily. Once in the morning for warm baguettes and croissants; again in the afternoon for a tart or quiche. The boulangerie is an essential part of life.
So, the premise of The Baker’s Wife, now playing Off-Broadway in a rare revival at Classic Stage Company, is plausible: The villagers of Concorde are distressed after their baker dies (mon dieu!). They eagerly await Aimable Castagnet (Scott Bakula), who is indeed amiable, and sets to work filling the village square with the scent of freshly-baked bread. (If ever a show required “aroma-turgy,” this is it!)
But things go awry when his much younger wife, Geneviève (Ariana DeBose), falls for the charms of young, hunky Dominique (Kevin William Paul). On a whim, she runs away with him, and the baker falls off the wagon, the boulangerie fails, and the villagers band together to bring Geneviève back. Their quest heals old rifts and revives discarded dreams: Alcoholic Antoine (Kevin Del Aguila) now has a reason to stay sober, and Denise (Judy Kuhn), the downtrodden wife of cafe owner Claude (Robert Cuccioli), demands respect and romance.
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Infidelity is a narrative cliche, but bouquets for DeBose, who glows and brings delicacy to the errant Geneviève with the score’s lesser-known songs “Gifts of Love” and “Where is the Warmth?”
Music and lyrics are by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), with a book by Joseph Stein (Rags), based on a 1938 French film. The show premiered in London in 1989 after a famously disastrous 1976 pre-Broadway tour, at one point starring Patti LuPone in the title role and Topol as her aging husband. Creative differences kept the show from ever reaching New York, including producer David Merrick’s failed attempt to cut what became the musical’s most famous song, “Meadowlark.” It’s now the show-stopper, and DeBose’s rendition of the soaring, fairytale ballad is able and affecting.
Nearly 50 years in, The Baker’s Wife is still unlikely to transfer to Broadway. (Though Schwartz’s royalty checks continue to arrive, thanks to Wicked, and the newly opened The Queen of Versailles.) It feels, at times, anachronistic against Jason Sherwood’s nostalgic scenic design. And yet, the croissant, insubstantial as it is, has a time-honored tradition behind every fold.
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Fast facts: ‘The Baker’s Wife’
The show’s flaws are baked in after 50 years, but Ariana DeBose’s performance in The Baker’s Wife, particularly her soaring “Meadowlark,” makes this rare revival more than a curiosity.
- Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street, New York City
- Two hours and 30 minutes, one intermission
- Performances through December 21, 2025
