Taking Care of Baby
by Dennis Kelly
Full Length Play, Drama / 7m, 6f
This tale of a mother accused and convicted of the deaths of her two young babies is a horrific yet powerful. By adopting a form commonly associated with verbatim theatre, the subject is imbued with a clarity that is at once both unrelenting and utte…
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Cast Size
7m, 6fDuration
More than 120 minutes (2 hours)Subgenre
Mystery/ThrillerAccolades
From Off-BroadwayTarget Audience
- Adult
Additional Info
This tale of a mother accused and convicted of the deaths of her two young babies is a horrific yet powerful. By adopting a form commonly associated with verbatim theatre, the subject is imbued with a clarity that is at once both unrelenting and utterly engaging, as it slowly emerges that these events are not truth at all, but Kelly masquerading theatrical illusion as truth. What unfolds is a bleak yet tender exploration of grief, exploitation, and the innate hypocrisies of reportage.
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Reviews
"Taking Care of Baby," [is] a crafty little play... Mr. Kelly... deftly scrambles both our sympathies for, and our trust in, this play’s characters" - New York Times"Those dying for a big dramatic disclosure of truth at the end of this dizzying ride may not get the satisfaction they came for, instead leaving in a frustrating yet wonderful state of confusion. As the reliability of Kelly's characters fall under suspicion one by one, we find that the truth may be forever buried among all of these contradictory stories. Or perhaps we can take solace in the fact that there may be no truth to find at all." - TheatreMania
"...excellent and engrossing… what makes the story of this mother, Donna McAuliffe..., so worthy of exploration is that it’s really not clear what happened… But what makes the play—by Dennis Kelly, who also wrote the book for Matilda—so impressive is that none of it is in fact true…" - New York Observer
"Dennis Kelly pulls off quite a feat in his smart, punchy Taking Care of Baby… Kelly keenly dissects the ethical corruption of various systems…" - Time Out New York
Videos
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60 Seconds with TAKING CARE OF BABY Playwright Dennis Kelly
Considerations
Performing Groups
- College Theatre / Student
- Community Theatre
- Dinner Theatre
- Professional Theatre
- Large Stage
- Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups
Cautions
- Intense Adult Themes
License details
- Minimum Fee: $100 per performance
Production
Details
- Time Period: Contemporary, Present Day
- Duration: More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
- Setting: Various simple settings
- Features / Contains: Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
Casting
7m, 6f
MARTIN McAULIFFE
DR. MILLARD
DONNA McAULIFFE
MRS. MILLARD/JANE/WAITRESS/WOMAN
LYNN BARRIE
REPORTER/MAN AT DOOR
JIM/OLD MAN AT THE DOOR
BRIAN/INTERVIEWER
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DR. MILLARD
DONNA McAULIFFE
MRS. MILLARD/JANE/WAITRESS/WOMAN
LYNN BARRIE
REPORTER/MAN AT DOOR
JIM/OLD MAN AT THE DOOR
BRIAN/INTERVIEWER
Cast Attributes
- Expandable casting
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Authors
Dennis Kelly
Taking Care of Baby premiered in New York City at Manhattan Theatre Club's New York City Center - Stage II space, in November of 2013, under the direction of Erica Schmidt.
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