In the meantime, a very scary Nanny hovers over Baby shaking a rattle labeled with a keep-away-from-children warning due to the presence of asbestos, Red Dye No. 2 and a few other toxic materials.
Soon, an unrelated person from nowhere drops in to rescue Baby
from its present horrible existence. She reads Baby a story--a
chapter out of Mommy Dearest--and then takes off with Baby.
After all, she needs someone to care for since her German shepherd
gobbled up her own baby.
Christopher Durang's 1983 savage satire, Baby with the Bathwater, directly attacks our society's cavalier approach to giving birth and suddenly finding ourselves with responsibilities we are unable or unwilling to grasp.
"Let's be parents now," Helen tells John. "I'm giving up my career to care for Baby, and any resentment I feel, I'll never show."
In this play, as in most of his plays (his most successful and most controversial was Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You), Durang uses comedy to portray the horrors of modern civilization. He keeps you laughing helplessly at the absurdity of it all, until the ridiculous begins to mesh with today's headlines, and reality mixed with farce creates a disturbing consciousness that hangs over the production.
In a 1986 interview, Durang remarked that his plays always seem to alienate at least some segment of the audience. Baby with the Bathwater is no exception. While some will latch onto the satire and let humor carry them through such scenes as the one where the child lies motionless in a pile of laundry while the father sings, "Hush little baby, don't you cry, or mama's gonna give you a big black eye," others will seize the disquieting truth in Durang's portrayal of inept parents and yearn to turn away from it.
After all, Helen and John, exaggerated though they might be, are not much different from many of us. They don't physically abuse the child. They, in fact, are so polite, they don't even peek to see what gender the child is. (They name it Daisy and put it in a dress only to find out years later it's a boy.) They mean well. They just don't know how to be parents.
Throughout the play, Durang hints that his characters may have brief moments of self-awareness, but just as we anticipate them, he yanks them away. But by the end of the play, Durang writes a touching scene for Daisy, who is now experiencing fatherhood himself, that, surprisingly, borders on optimism.
The timing of METAtheatre's production is either really good or really bad, depending on how you view Durang's play. At a time when society is outraged by the alleged actions of Susan Smith in drowning her two children, Durang's commentary on child bearing and child rearing seems more pertinent than ever.
However, the dark humor that Durang relies upon so heavily puts the cast in a precarious position. One would think sensitivity would be called for, but Durang's play demands just the opposite, and the METAtheatre cast, under the direction of Neal Racioppo, delivers. They present the comedy boldly and unashamedly, leaving no interpretive question.
Suzi List leads the cast with a near flawless performance as the neurotic new mother, Scott Seitzberg is convincingly nonchalant as the new father, and Frank Hartigan is peculiarly creepy as Nanny. Carrie Hill plays four supporting roles, each one funnier than the next. Shari Goddard is also funny as the unbalanced, devil-worshipping school principal who is convinced that Daisy will be the next Virginia Woolf or Sylvia Plath. Django Voris portrays Daisy, the only character allowed to show any depth, with uncompromising sensitivity.
METAtheatre's production of Baby with the Bathwater continues with performances at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and 3 p.m. Sunday, through June 11. METAtheatre is located at the Historic Y Theater, 738 N. Fifth Ave. Tickets are $9, with discounts for seniors and students. Call 882-8446 for reservations and information.
