Absurdity is laughable in 2nd Story Theatre’s ‘Baby with the Bathwater’
WARREN — Think you know something about dysfunctional families? Not until you’ve seen “Baby with the Bathwater,” Christopher Durang’s absurd comedy about the pitfalls of parenting, now in sparkling production – if something this dark can sparkle – at 2nd Story Theatre.
The story starts gently enough, with parents Helen and John cooing over their newborn, but within minutes, Durang takes “normal” behavior to outrageous levels.
Out of some weird sense of propriety, these parents never determined the baby’s gender, so they just guess. When the baby cries, Helen tries a few bars of “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” because she doesn’t know any lullabies. Finally, they resort to shouting, “Shut up!”
Feeling unprepared for infant care, Helen regrets ever deciding to have a baby, and John, who is given to drowning his sorrows, plans escape: “I want to go to the Betty Ford Clinic,” he moans. A weird nanny arrives unexpectedly and at first seems to offer salvation but turns out to be spectacularly unhelpful.
As the play progresses, the absurdity builds in parenting techniques and later in the mixed-up emotional development of the child, named Daisy, who is a boy. Ultimately, Daisy is left to sort things out for himself with the help of, or maybe in spite of, an analyst.
Things can get pretty dark in this roughly 90-minute play as Durang raises issues from parenting, education and educators to therapy and gender identity, wresting humor out of behavior otherwise regarded as cruel or at the least, lacking empathy. He takes things to outrageous levels in the name of satire, like Jonathan Swift, the early 18th century essayist who suggested eating poor children to remove the burden of caring for them.
What makes 2nd Story’s production work is how director Ed Shea and his cast embrace the absurdity. As unbelievable as the characters are, the actors play them straight. The characters don’t see their behavior as extreme, but we do, and outrageous can be funny.
Maureen Bennett is particularly convincing as Helen, the new mom who takes motherhood to an all-time low. Matthew Gorgone is on target as the feckless John, and Michelle L. Walker is downright disturbing as the nanny.
Jen Michaels and Kerry Giorgi play multiple supporting roles, and their interaction as an earnest teacher who is worried about Daisy, and the clueless principal who is not, is one of the best scenes in the show.
Frank Iaquinta has the huge task of playing Daisy as a teenager and adult with whom we sympathize. As the play wraps up, Iaquinta is by himself at the center of the in- the-round stage, holding our attention with his words and expression. He creates a fascinating character, one who is coping with the damage wrought by his parents and maybe, hopefully, coming out intact. As the title implies, he might hang on to something good even as he learns to throw out the bad stuff.
“Baby with the Bathwater” is a specific kind of comedy, not to be taken literally but appreciated for its merciless skewering. Go to 2nd Story with that in mind, knowing you’re in for a meticulously well done production.
Performances of “Baby with the Bathwater” continue through May 27 at 2nd Story Theatre, 28 Market St. Tickets are $30, or $25 for persons younger than 25 with ID, and available by calling the box office at 401-2474200 or clicking on 2ndsto
rytheatre.com. The theater’s new Union restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday evenings and for Sunday brunch, with or without seeing a show. Call the box office for reservations.