Samuel French, Inc. The House of Plays & Musical Plays for Over 175 Years

Baby Taj
[29211]

$8.95

ISBN 978-0-573-69842-2

Tanya Shaffer

Comedy

5m, 6f (or 4m, 3f with doubling)

"I've dreamed you for so long, I can hardly believe you're with me now. Yet here you are: a tiny human voyager, sleeping off the shock of migration..."

The legendary Taj Mahal is the next assignment for Rachel, an American travel writer whose failed romances have led her to ask: Why not have the baby she craves - on her own? She finds unexpected answers – and larger questions - among the glittering legacies of India’s past. Alive with the sounds and colors of a remarkable country, this bittersweet comedy of mischievous matchmaking raises provocative questions about love, friendship, family, and what it means to be ready to be a parent.

Baby Taj had developmental readings at Jeffrey Bihr Studio in Berkeley, California; The Lark Theatre in New York City; and TheatreWorks in Mountain View, California. It premiered at TheatreWorks in October, 2005, in a production directed by Matt August, to great critical acclaim. It was selected as one of the Top Ten Shows of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune, and the San Jose Mercury News, and nominated for an American Theatre Critics' Association Steinberg Award and a Bay Area Theatre Critics' Award

"A captivating inquiry into love and freedom... Thrives on a witty, probing clash between freethinking modernity and tradition." -Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle

"A bundle of cross-cultural joy… Marries the breezy cynicism of the now with the eternal power of India... [Shaffer's] ear for mod-groovy lingo gives the play a to-die-for sparkle." -Karen D'Souza, San Jose Mercury News

"...Filled with a savvy traveler's enthusiasm for the cultural and historical rewards of her journey." -Chad Jones, Oakland Tribune

"...Depicts the characters in all their contradictions and with such clarity that the humorous result is full of delicate reflections on caring and family." -Marianne Messina, Silicon Valley Metro

"It's refreshing to come across a playwright who is able to write so honestly about life...Witty, poignant and frequently funny... It's hard not to get swept away." -Julie O'Shea, Mountain View Voice

"Provocative and true, laced with snappy dialogue…" -Jeanie Forte, Palo Alto Weekly

"A beautiful play...[Shaffer] has brilliantly integrated theatricality through the story of...the building of this famous fairy tale palace." -Richard Connema, Talkin Broadway

FEE: $75 per performance

Character Descriptions:
RACHEL – A 37 year-old Jewish-American woman. Free-spirited travel addict. Single.
ANJALI – Her best friend, an Indian lesbian in her thirties who has lived in the U.S. for at least nine years. Single.
CHANDRA – Arustu’s wife. Intelligent and quick-tempered. 30-ish.
SUNITA – A girl in her late teens, servant of the Sharmas.
ARUSTU – Mrs. Sharma’s son. An astrologer. 30s. A prankster.
OSHO – Chandra and Arustu’s six-year-old son.
MRS. SHARMA – Anjali’s grandmother. A stern matriarch from Agra, India. 70’s.
ABHI – Arustu’s cousin. Teacher of Hindi, student of history, poet. Intellectual. 30s.
NATHAN – A friend of Rachel’s. 20s or 30s.
MIKE – A friend of Rachel’s. Medical intern. 20s or 30s.
TERI – Mike’s wife. Medical intern also. 20s or 30s.
SAM – An ex-boyfriend of Rachel’s. Mid-30s.
MOTHER – Abhi’s Mother, 50s or 60s

COURTIER, LADY, PRINCE, ARJUMAND, GIRL, MAN, various historical characters who appear only in movement sequences.

Quantity:

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