Maltby and Shire's Baby!

This would have to be one of the most under-appreciated and easily overlooked Musicals ever written.

It boasts one of the best scores I've heard: catchy, witty and appealling. And yet, it is so easily forgotten.

I always forget to include it in my lists of favourite musicals, and yet it is right up there.

To quote John Kenrick:
"Yes, Baby is a masterpiece. David Shire's music soars, Richard Maltby, Jr.'s lyrics are superbly crafted, and Sybille Pearson's book is one of the strongest original libretti ever written for Broadway. The central concept is simple. At an American college, three couples face pregnancies -- unmarried juniors, married 20-something athletics coaches, and a 40-something couple that has just sent their kids off to college. We follow them through nine months that lead to lots of laughs, some truthful tears, and the birth of just one child. This is solid gold entertaiment from start ot finish, filled with wit, melody, and heart.

So why is Baby underrated? The original Broadway staging bears part of the blame. A glorious cast was hampered by poorly blocked ensemble scenes and noisy electrified curtains in lieu of sets. Worse yet, Baby suffered from an accident of timing. Debuting in the same season as Sunday in the Park With George, The Rink and La Cage Aux Folles, it was never able to win the attention -- or the Tonys -- it deserved. There were some fine regional and amateur productions, but then Baby pretty much faded from view. All that was left was a delicious cast recording, and the memories Baby's devoted fans (including yours truly) have held on to."

How unfortunate that it had such bad timing. Had it arrived a few seasons later it would have cleaned up!

Updated On: 4/8/05 at 11:47 AM

I have a love/hate relationship with the show.

The score is great, with some amazing numbers, especially "I Want it All", "The Story Goes On", and the cut, then restored "Patterns". But the book is extremely troubled. Even in the recent Papermill Revisal of the show, the problems were still there.

The main problem I have with Baby is that the only characters that get to have the baby , are the most self absorbed of the lot. I always want to like Lizzie/Danny but they always come off as self-important, which is fine in life, but hard to deal with in a musical where you are supposed to empathise with these characters. The other 2 couples are so likeable, that Lizzie/Danny often come off as the villians of the piece, which I am almost positive was not intentional. In the Papermill production, this was even mor obvious, especially since they have the older couple losing the baby and the middle couple left where they started.

I have seen 3 productions of this show, 2 amateur and 1 professional, and the piece intrigues me but still leaves me cold. Maltby (as is his case in a lot of his work) never really writes lyrics that progress the action effectivelly. The actors talk about their feelings, then sing about them, rather than hinting at their feelings and then fully explaining them in song. The same basic feeling is echoed several times in several different times, and variety is often lacking. Baby works well on it's great cast recording, with an appealing cast, and even with a top notch cast (THe Papermill cast boasted as weak Lizzie and Danny; but strong outings from Carolee Carmello (whose Patterns was difinitive), Michael Rupert, Norm Lewis, and La Chanze) the books and lyric problems are impossible to escape.

But Shire's music is often soaring and beautiful, and like most of their shows, the songs can have a life outside of the show itself. I think the cast recording is somewhat misleading as to the quality of the material.

I think Baby will continue to be explored, but unfortunatly I think some of it's problems are too large to fix, without completely re-doing the show. The ideas are good ones, but the execution never fully comes together.

Crap I can't remember what happens in the original, but I know in the revisal she has a miscarriage.

I am not 100 percent sure, but I believe in the original, they decide to have the baby after much debate over what to do.

Updated On: 4/8/05 at 12:13 PM

Thanks. I just assumed until reading the post about the younger couple being the only one to get a baby that the older couple decides to have and keep the baby.

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Paradox error, you're right! We do have SO MANY of the same opinions!!

I ADORE Baby! The score is perfection, and I always include it among my favorites. I have made all of my theater friends listen to this show. I don't know why it doesn't have more appreciation out there. Fatherhood Blues, I Want it All, The Story Goes On, What Could Be Better, Two People In Love, oh man.... I wish I could be more specific but I'm late for class...

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InfinateTheaterFrenzy asks: "I don't know why it doesn't have more appreciation out there."

Dear Frenzy,

To be blunt and at the risk of getting everybody mad at me, I must tell you that some of us have extremely limited interest/tolerence in small-scale shows or themed revues pretending to be big-time Broadway fare. Which is why some of us will always be more interested in Sunday in the Park With George, The Rink and La Cage Aux Folles, as opposed to a trifle like Baby.

I saw all of them. Baby deserved to be overshadowed by the real shows.

Updated On: 4/8/05 at 02:16 PM

I don't care if it has a big cast, small cast, if it's "small-scale shows or themed revues"...

As long as it's creative, original and has a good score I'll appreciate it...

Besides, I don't particularly like The Rink.

It's one of the few Kander and Ebb scores that really doesn't appeal to me...

I think I've listened to the score once the whole way through.

Not even Liza and Chita could make me love it...