“We’re both the brides.”

It’s a simple statement that for some causes confusion instead of congratulations.

“The Cake,” opening at Orcas Center in a few weeks, examines what happens when long-held beliefs are challenged. After growing up in a small North Carolina town, Jen moves to Brooklyn, where she meets her future wife, Macy. They return to the south to plan their wedding, and the two ask bakery owner and family friend Della to create the cake for their ceremony. Della and her husband Tim are shocked that the girl they helped raise is marrying a woman, and she feels a moral obligation to not participate as a baker for the event.

“The writing is wonderful and it’s a mix of humor and poignancy,” said director Melinda Milligan.

“The Cake” is being performed in the Black Box at Orcas Center from Sept. 15-17 and 21-23 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale at www.orcascenter.org. The show is rated PG-13 for strong language. Seven local bakers and businesses have signed on to create cakes for each performance. Each baker will receive a special insert to the program highlighting their creation, which will be served to the audience after the curtain closes.

The play is by Bekah Brunstetter, a writer and producer for the show “This is us,” and was first published in 2018. It is inspired by the real-life story of a Colorado baker who refused to make a cake for a gay wedding, saying it went against his freedom of expression. After the couple filed a formal complaint, the Colorado courts ruled the baker violated a state law that bans discrimination by companies offering their services to the public. He appealed, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the baker’s favor, stating he could not be “forced” to create a cake that was in opposition to his religious beliefs.

“Everything is so polarized right now, it feels easy to know immediately what is right and wrong — but this play doesn’t let you do that,” Milligan said. “It forces you to look at the people in a real way and doesn’t allow you to just jump to a judgment. You go through the journey with them. It’s not preaching one way or another. It’s hard to condemn people when you know them.”

Della is played by Lisa Spesard and Tim is portrayed by Travis King. Claire Orser is playing Jen and Sofia Poe is her fiancee Macy. The cast is rounded out by Yotam Zohar as the voice of a British baking judge. Lynda Sanders is the stage manager and Suzanne Gropper is the assistant director. A group of volunteers made fake confectionary creations for the set that Milligan says add “great cake energy.”

“I’ve always wanted to do a show in the Black Box because of the intimacy. It feels like you are sitting in a bakery,” she said. “I’m thrilled for the community to see these actors on stage.”

Steve Alboucq photo Claire Orser and Sofia Poe.