A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Taking Care of Baby

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  6w, 7m

Dennis Kelly

Taking Care of Baby
by Dennis Kelly

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…

Taking Care of Baby

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    6w, 7m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Mystery/Thriller
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
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.
History
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. 
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups
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
  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Setting Various simple settings
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Intense Adult Themes

Media

"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

  • 60 Seconds with TAKING CARE OF BABY Playwright Dennis Kelly youtube thumbnail

    60 Seconds with TAKING CARE OF BABY Playwright Dennis Kelly

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

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Authors

Author

Dennis Kelly

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