Baby
Off-Broadway Cast CD Release Concert
The Green Room 42, NYC, February 13, 2023
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
In 1983, the original musical Baby opened on Broadway with a book by Sybille Pearson and a score by David Shire and Richard Maltby, Jr. It was a witty, adult tale about of three couples who were dealing with the effects of pregnancy on their lives. These included a college-age couple who faced an unplanned pregnancy; a twosome in their 30s, both gym teachers, dealing with infertility issues; and a long-married pair in their 40s who, after a weekend celebrating their youngest’s departure to college, discovered that a new addition to the family was on the way. They were all white and all heterosexual, which some saw as a limitation to the appeal of the show. The 241-performance run was far from a disaster but wasn’t really a success either. Like many such shows, it lived on only through a beloved-by-collectors cast recording of the strong score, and it boasted the introduction of the incredibly talented Liz Callaway.
Over the past few years, Out of the Box Theatrics, a site-specific devoted company headed up by Elizabeth Flemming, took an interest in bringing Baby into the 21st century by including the radical change in what we define as a family these days. With the active participation of Maltby, and with the cast members contributing their own experiences, it became the story of two young students with hearing and vision disabilities, a same-sex interracial couple dealing with in-vitro fertilization, and a mature couple who were a bit older than those in the original script. Most of the changes were in the dialogue, but alterations were made to the lyrics as well, such as in the song “I Want It All,” where a reference to Margaret Truman became Margaret Atwood. Yellow Sound Label has produced the cast recording, the release of which was celebrated at The Green Room 42.
The format of half performance/half chat about the history
of the production made for an enjoyable evening. The highlight of the chat
section was Maltby telling us of how he developed the changes during rehearsal,
including the challenge of rewriting the entire show in four weeks. As other
cast members spoke of their experiences, they all had great praise for the
experience of working with the lyricist/playwright. It was clear the cast was
very close knit and was a collection of distinct personalities. The best-known
member of the group being Broadway and cabaret’s Julia Murney as den mother.
Director Ethan Paulini served as host and interviewer for the evening.
The more exciting half of the evening was the performance of a good portion of the score (the recording includes some more of the linking material that had not been previously recorded). Andrew Morrissey provided strong support on the piano for all the singers. For a varied sound, Johnny Link (as Danny) accompanied himself on guitar while he delivered one of the sweetest songs in the score, the folkish “I Chose Right.” Other highlights were Murney’s scorching “Patterns” and the performance of her “husband” Robert H. Fowler’s introspective “Easier to Love.” Gabrielle McClinton offered a sensitive “At Night She Comes Home to Me.” Flemming had the unenviable task of delivering Callaway’s landmark number, “The Story Goes On,” and she offered a very different interpretation of the song. Also joining in were the exquisite Christina Sajous as McClinton’s partner, along with ensemble members Jorge Donoso, Marisa Kirby, and Jewell Noel. It all came together as a wonderful appetizer for the cast recording, which is available as a download from all the usual suspects or via www.YellowSoundLabel.com.
