Baby (musical)

Infobox Musical
name= Baby


image_size= 150px
caption= Original Broadway poster
music= David Shire
lyrics= Richard Maltby, Jr.
book=Sybille Pearson
basis=
productions= 1983 Broadway
2004 Manila
2005 Antwerp
awards=

"Baby" is a musical with a book by Sybille Pearson, music by David Shire, and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr..

The plot focuses on three couples—each newly expecting a child, and each with different but familiar reactions. Liz and Danny are university juniors who have just moved in together. Athletic Pam and her husband, Nick, a sports instructor, have had some trouble conceiving. Arlene, already the mother of three grown daughters, is unsure of what to do, contemplating abortion while her husband Alan is thrilled with the thought of a new baby. Throughout the show, these characters experience the emotional stresses and triumphs, the desperate lows and the comic highs, that accompany the anticipation and arrival of a baby.

After 35 previews, the Broadway production, directed by Maltby and choreographed by Wayne Cilento, opened on December 4, 1983 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, where it ran for 241 performances. The cast included Liz Callaway, Beth Fowler, Todd Graff, Catherine Cox, James Congdon and Martin Vidnovic.

The 2004 production in Manila starred Tony Award winner Lea Salonga. It was held at the Meralco Theatre.

Belgium-based theatre and musical group De Speling translated "Baby" for a Dutch-speaking audience and premiered their production on November 11, 2005 in Antwerp.

ong list

;Act I
*Opening - Company
*We Start Today - Company
*What Could Be Better? - Danny Hooper and Lizzie Fields
*The Plaza Song - Alan McNally and Arlene McNally
*Baby, Baby, Baby - Nick Sakarian, Pam Sakarian, Alan McNally, Arlene McNally, Danny Hooper and Lizzie Fields
*I Want It All - Pam Sakarian, Lizzie Fields and Arlene McNally
*At Night She Comes Home To Me - Nick Sakarian and Danny Hooper
*What Could Be Better? (Reprise) - Danny Hooper and Lizzie Fields
*Fatherhood Blues - Danny Hooper, Alan McNally, Nick Sakarian, Mr. Weiss and Dean Webber
*Romance - Nick Sakarian and Pam Sakarian
*I Chose Right - Danny Hooper
*We Start Today (Reprise) - Company
*The Story Goes On - Lizzie Fields;Act II
*The Ladies Singin' Their Song - Lizzie Fields and Women in the Town
*Patterns - Arlene McNally
*Baby, Baby, Baby (Reprise) - Arlene McNally*
*Romance (Reprise) - Nick Sakarian and Pam Sakarian
*Easier to Love - Alan McNally
*Two People In Love - Danny Hooper and Lizzie Fields
*With You - Nick Sakarian and Pam Sakarian
*And What If We Had Loved Like That - Alan McNally and Arlene McNally
*We Start Today (Reprise)- Danny Hooper, Lizzie Fields, Nick Sakarian, Pam Sakarian, Alan McNally and Arlene McNally
*The Story Goes On (Reprise)- Company

"Baby, Baby, Baby (Reprise)" is replaced in some productions, including the initial run and the original cast recordings with a completely different song "Patterns," wherein Arlene contemplates her circular life as mother and wife.

Awards and nominations

*Tony Award for Best Musical (nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Original Score (nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Graff, nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Callaway, nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Choreography (nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (nominee)
*Theatre World Award (Graff, winner)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical (nominee)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Vidnovic, winner)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Cox, winner)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestration (nominee)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics (nominee)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music (nominee)

External links

* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4242 Internet Broadway Database listing]
* [http://www.musictheatreinternational.com/show_home.asp?ID=000087 synopsis and other information at MTI Show]
* [http://www.nodanw.com/shows_b/baby.htm plot at NODANW]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwl7BLijXkg Commercial for the musicial annoucing nominations for Tony awards]