Early
Christopher Durang was venomous. He strode onto the scene with a spectacularly
damning indictment of the Catholic Church (and this was before revelations of
pedophilia). The Church lashed back and priests told parishioners to stay away
from SISTER MARY IGNATIUS. There were picketers and counter-protesters outside
the theaters. Good times!
The latter
Christopher Durang is clever and cheeky but mostly just plain silly. Mind you,
that’s OK. I’m always thankful for reasons to giggle. And laugh we all did at
Happy Medium Theatre’s BABY WITH THE BATHWATER (playing through Feb. 22nd).
Director Lizette
M. Morris has a first rate cast to screw up poor baby’s upbringing. If Mommy
and Daddy weren’t frightening enough, Durang summons the Nanny from hell. Then
a stranger appears at baby’s cradle to insure some heavyweight anxiety.
Morris and
Dierdre Benson create maximum laughs with an ingenious little ’50s house
outfitted with skewed planked walls so we can see who’s coming and going and
who’s standing in the rain. (Even the rain is hilarious!) Their vintage
commercials (“See the USA
in your Chevrolet”) add the delicious frosting to the cake.
Denise Drago is truly
scary as the irrationally unprepared mother who would rather have given birth
to a best seller. Jeremy Towle makes father loopy in Act I but just wait ‘til
Act II some thirty years later, when he’s thoroughly bonkers, swatting away at
imaginary owls. Nicole Howard gets to play several roles to the hilt,
especially the noxious nanny, as does Drew Linehan, who gets laughs just by
tilting her walk in Act I.
Mike Budwey as
Baby Daisy (don’t ask, it’s a DNA thing) gets terrific mileage out of his ten
years of sessions with an unseen shrink (a funny, Austrian voiced Benson),
recounting his fears of buses and laundry. His deer in the headlights ride on
the therapist’s elevator is niftily crafted by lighting designer Greg
Jutkiewicz.
Costumer Megan
Becker scores with her fifties dresses and Daisy’s azure sweater the exact
color of Budwey’s eyes. The great thing about the Factory space is that you see
everything up close, down to every exacting absurdist detail.