What’s that on the stage? It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a sub-par play.
The University Theatre’s production of Christopher Durang’s Baby with the Bathwater was, in a word, bad. It becomes apparent in the opening scenes of the production that the plot is an examination of a wacky, dysfunctional pair of newlyweds with a newly delivered bundle of joy.
Five minutes in, the action takes one bizarre turn after another, with dark, unfunny humor and depressing dead baby jokes peppered throughout the two-and-a-half hours of confusion. The audience-and the cast, for that matter-is left struggling for firm footing in the middle of a landslide.
Before I go any further, I will do my best to summarize the plot. John and Helen are two deeply disturbed individuals who would both benefit from a brief stint in a mental ward. It’s not that they’re simply neurotic or quirky; they are genuinely unstable (not to mention unlikable). They have a new baby boy, although they are inexplicably unaware of the infant’s sex.
The couple also happens to hate each other and the baby-funny, right?
A strange cast of characters-including an adulterous, depraved Mary Poppins prototype and a profoundly unfit mother with a homicidal canine-come parading through their home at all hours without rhyme or reason. They are welcomed without question or explanation, involve themselves in a few zany misadventures and then scurry off to wreak havoc in some other corner of the world.
As the play trudges on, each of the characters becomes increasingly miserable, a fate shared by the audience. The characters are too reckless to arouse any sympathy. So many great characters of fiction are famous for their flawed lives, but this sorry bunch is simply unrelatable. The characters lack an emotional core. There is nothing identifiable about these characters and their cartoonish collections of tics and neuroses.
Unfortunately, the actors are largely unable to rise above the shortcomings prevalent in the writing. Occasionally, a joke was delivered with enough panache to elicit a sympathetic chortle but, for the most part, the audience was too confused, or disinterested, to catch on.
After almost 400 words of scathing criticism, the question becomes, is this play worth seeing? While I certainly wouldn’t recommend it as a light-hearted cap to a hectic week, there are a few moments that are bearable, and almost riveting.
The unquestionable standout in this production is the charged monologue delivered by junior Billy Kelly as the grown-up product of this warped universe. He is unflinchingly impassioned, and his late arrival on the stage is enough to maintain the audience’s attention through the otherwise vapid second act.
Another much-needed breath of fresh air comes from effervescent junior Jennifer Stewart, whose light-hearted whimsy is a relief after the endless twists and turns of the topsy-turvy plot.
Despite the limitations of her truly unbelievable character, junior Paris McCarthy was able to entertain, even if the lines written for her were cringe-inducing.
The leads, on the other hand-juniors Dylan Duke and Katie Consamus-were too severely reined in by their characters’ baffling actions to do any memorable work. The exaggerated characters lent themselves to stilted performances that were more head-scratching than jaw-dropping.
I hesitate to criticize any of the actors too heavily, though. After all, their achievements are limited to the scope of their characters, and none of these characters was, in the least bit, interesting. Perhaps next year’s play selections will offer the cast a chance to succeed.
Believe it or not, several members of the audience laughed throughout the duration of the play. So, if you feel like being the judge yourself, there are three more chances to catch the University Theatre’s production of Baby with the Bathwater. Tonight and tomorrow, performances will be held at 8 p.m. On Sunday, a matinee performance will begin at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $6 for students, $9 for faculty and senior citizens and $10 for the general public. All performances take place in the theater located in the basement of Xavier Hall.
