Baby with the Bathwater Critique
Baby with the Bathwater Critique
“Baby with the Bathwater” is a play by Christopher Durang about two parents who were completely unprepared for parenthood. At first, they can’t decide on a name for the baby, but eventually name it Daisy. They decide to choose the sex of the baby later and they have no idea how to handle or treat a baby. The parents, John and Helen, played by Stephen Tyler Howell and Danielle Amick, did a fantastic job in portraying the struggles and uncertainties of parenthood. The acting styles of both these actors were very dramatic, but served the vision of the playwright well.
The Nanny, played by Caitlin Humphreys, was a character who showed up out of nowhere. She also had no idea how to handle a baby and was possibly out of her mind. Caitlin Humphreys’ acting style was also very dramatic, but effective. As the second act opens, the audience is finally hit with the first sign of normalcy, with Miss Daisy and the two mothers in the park. The two mothers in the park, played by Cheryl Ann Gottselig and Caitlin Humphreys, was the first time that the parents were looked upon by some with rational sense. The second sign of normalcy was with the character Miss Pringle, played by Natalie Beisner, who realized that there might be something dramatically wrong with Daisy’s Psyche.
As the second act progresses, the audience realizes that Daisy is in fact a boy. At age 17 he realizes that he in fact is not a girl and stops wearing dresses. It is clear that he was deeply affected by the negligence of his parents. The audience gets to listen in on Daisy’s therapy sessions and see him psychologically develop over time. Jordan Kubat’s portrayal of daisy’s psyche was perfect. He was able to interpret what a child who experienced what daisy experience would be like.
The one aspect of the production that hit me the wrong way was the cursing. The use of profanity occurred more than five times during the production. I don’t believe that this was needed to
“Baby with the Bathwater” is a play by Christopher Durang about two parents who were completely unprepared for parenthood. At first, they can’t decide on a name for the baby, but eventually name it Daisy. They decide to choose the sex of the baby later and they have no idea how to handle or treat a baby. The parents, John and Helen, played by Stephen Tyler Howell and Danielle Amick, did a fantastic job in portraying the struggles and uncertainties of parenthood. The acting styles of both these actors were very dramatic, but served the vision of the playwright well.
The Nanny, played by Caitlin Humphreys, was a character who showed up out of nowhere. She also had no idea how to handle a baby and was possibly out of her mind. Caitlin Humphreys’ acting style was also very dramatic, but effective. As the second act opens, the audience is finally hit with the first sign of normalcy, with Miss Daisy and the two mothers in the park. The two mothers in the park, played by Cheryl Ann Gottselig and Caitlin Humphreys, was the first time that the parents were looked upon by some with rational sense. The second sign of normalcy was with the character Miss Pringle, played by Natalie Beisner, who realized that there might be something dramatically wrong with Daisy’s Psyche.
As the second act progresses, the audience realizes that Daisy is in fact a boy. At age 17 he realizes that he in fact is not a girl and stops wearing dresses. It is clear that he was deeply affected by the negligence of his parents. The audience gets to listen in on Daisy’s therapy sessions and see him psychologically develop over time. Jordan Kubat’s portrayal of daisy’s psyche was perfect. He was able to interpret what a child who experienced what daisy experience would be like.
The one aspect of the production that hit me the wrong way was the cursing. The use of profanity occurred more than five times during the production. I don’t believe that this was needed to