Baby With the Bathwater
Mainstage Theater
Written by
Christopher Durang
Directed by Jerry Zaks
Creative Team
Loren Sherman
Scenic Designer
Rita Ryack
Costume Designer
Jennifer Tipton
Lighting Designer
Jonathan Vail
Sound Designer
Esther Cohen
Production Stage Manager
Photo of William H. Macy, Fran Brill, and Dana Ivey by Gerry Goodstein
“Nanny – a warped Mary Poppins as played by Dana Ivey – believes that cuddling children only spoils them. She gives the baby a rattle made of asbestos, lead and Red Dye No. 2. … Daisy proves a fuller creation than the outrageous facts suggest. Watching the character undergo therapy, we feel the pain that leads him to have more than 1,700 sexual partners, that makes it impossible for him to find an identity or a name. A playwright who shares Swift’s bleak view of humanity, [Durang] conquers bitterness and finds a way to turn rage into comedy that is redemptive as well as funny.”
— Frank Rich, New York Times