The Travails Of Parenting, Dramatized At Horace Greeley

It's a curious expression: "Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater." It illustrates the dichotomy that a notion is comprised of two parts: the good that one desires to keep and the bad that one prefers to bid good riddance to. In Christopher Durang's, Baby With the Bathwater, the baby is about the only component of the expression that is applicable. The play is centered around the quintessential dysfunctional family, one that certainly should have discarded with the bathwater.

The Greeley Theatre Company presented Durang's play during Mother's Day weekend. It is the story of a couple of newlyweds who bring a baby home from the hospital without a clue as to how to care for it. The first hint that the audience is in for a roller coaster ride comes when the husband has an affair with the nanny in the first 10 minutes of the show. Chaos reigns, and the baby is referred to as "it" for quite awhile due to a debatable assertion on the part of the doctor as to its gender. The fact that the baby survives at all, despite being tossed repeatedly, is a minor miracle.

It was a hilarious satire full of parenting does and don'ts, with a heavy emphasis on the don'ts. "Baby will grow up with no love of literature if you don't read to it," was the only bit of sound advice uttered. These words of wisdom were pronounced by the nanny, played with particular aplomb by Jahanara Alamgir. The role of the father played expertly by Matthew Haas, included several fits of drug and alcohol induced rage. He mangled the words of several nursery rhymes, which haunt baby for the rest of his/her life. The play comes full circle at the end when baby becomes a father. Baby, portrayed by freshman Jake Sussman, changes the lyrics yet again in order to ease his baby into the world.

One part of the plot that was particularly unsettling was the lack of intervention. Baby was allowed to progress, as the confused, tortured offspring. Only when Baby entered school and wrote a disturbing "What I Did On My Summer Vacation," essay did a glimmer of hope appear that help may have been forthcoming. A teacher read the essay aloud to the principal, who dismissed it as being simply the combination of "Donald Barthelme and Sesame Street." In the essay, Baby wrote, "I am trapped. Help, help, help. I'm drowning."

The actors were unanimous in their praise of the production. Dana Bergenfeld (who played the part of the school principal when baby was growing up) was effusive. "It was spectacular. I got to work with such an inspirational cast. I'm so excited to be a part of this community." Alamgir said, "It was so much fun bonding with the cast."

The audience was equally enthusiastic. Ben Ehrlich, a student at Greeley, said, "I thought it was some of the best acting I've ever seen at Horace Greeley." Parent Anne Gans noted that, "It is a play that will get people talking."

This show was the main swan song for the seniors in the cast. Matthew Haus, Julia Deutsch, Sarah Steinhorn, and Sammie Nish, all veterans of the Greeley stage, were busy reminiscing in the lobby after the show. The final theatrical production of the 2009-2010 season will be Springfest, a collection of plays produced by students at Greeley.