Baby (Out of the Box Theatrics) NYC Reviews and Tickets

73%

(23 Ratings)

Positive

78%

Mixed

13%

Negative

Members say

Great singing, Clever, Relevant, Quirky, Ambitious

About the Show

Three couples deal with the painful, rewarding, and funny consequences of parenthood.

There are the college students, barely at the beginning of their adult lives; the thirty-somethings, having trouble conceiving but determined to try; and the middle-aged parents, looking forward to seeing their last child graduate from college. This heart-warming musical comedy follows a night of unexpected passion between the couples that lands them back where they started.

Show-Score Member Reviews (23)

Romantic, Relevant, Great singing, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if You love sweet romantic comedies that really pull at your heartstrings. It has very immersive staging so you are in the middle of the action

Don't see it if You dont lik theater in the round or immersive theater.

Thought-provoking, Resonant, Great acting, Great singing, Absorbing

See it if You know the score and have been waiting for a production, like shows that encourage you to think about life choices, and just love talent!

Don't see it if This show might be really difficult for anyone who has struggled with infertility or miscarriages. Read more

Delightful, Ambitious, Quirky, Romantic, Relevant

See it if A fun show about couples/all that happens when you try to have kids Performances were fine Julia Murney is a star (but we already knew that)

Don't see it if I did not think this was such a "sight specific" production, rather a production in a very small space with seating on either side of stage

Quirky, Hilarious, Great singing

See it if you want a super intimate updated take on a problematic musical from the early 80s; you want Alice Ripley to belt three feet from your face

Don't see it if you want a fully developed, interestingly staged site-specific piece. Don't get me wrong, this piece (both the show itself and this ... Read more

Clever, Relevant, Entertaining

See it if Good update of 1983 show. Keeps spirit and score w/updated references. Tiny, 360o space - u r ft from action.

Don't see it if you aren't comfortable with examining complicated lives or looking into the eyes of the cast.

Questionable updates to the original production, Great singing, Clever, Ambitious

See it if you never saw the original "Baby" and want to see a stellar cast in a very intimate setting. Maltby & Shire's score is first-rate.

Don't see it if you don't like cramped spaces. Also, you can't hear every piece of dialogue or every lyric since the actors are constantly moving around. Read more

Thought-provoking, Relevant, Great singing, Ambitious

See it if you love Baby, Maltby & Shire, you are intrigued by an immersive theatrical experience. The cast was fabulous & the production ambitious.

Don't see it if you have any issues with small, tight quarters, updating shows or are uninterested in a show about fertility and relationships. Read more

Amazing score, Entertaining, Quirky, Intelligent, Great singing

See it if you love the score, as I do. I saw the original. The book still has problems but, oh, those songs! They are nicely sung here. I enjoyed it.

Don't see it if you think the premise is silly, or if you don't like low budget shows in tiny spaces with minimal staging. But the score is worth a visit.

Critic Reviews (3)

"Ethan Paulini, OOTB's associate artistic director, serves as director and choreographer of this immersive production, held in a 60-seat loft at Theatrelab. The intimate proceedings (efficiently designed by Rien Schlecht) put you, quite literally, in the middle of our three couples' collective living rooms — a proximity that turns out to be more exposing than it is gratifying."
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"NOVEMBER 14, 2021 7:50 PM BABY: CHARM-FILLED MALTBY-SHIRE MUSICAL MAKES A WELCOME RETURN By Steven Suskin ★★★ Share on FacebookTweet about this on Twitter Julia Murney, Liz Flemming, Danielle Summons, and Jamila Sabares-Klemm in Baby. Photo: Jo Chiang The joys of Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire’s score for the 1983 musical Baby are immediately apparent through the first scenes of the revised version which opened tonight. After three pairs of prospective parents go through their opening numbers, they mellifluously glide into a six-voice cacophony of expectancy, the liltingly bouncy “Baby, Baby, Baby.” What—to quote one of those opening songs—could be better than that? The score over the rest of the evening remains mostly near, or at, this exuberant level. You might well wonder, then, why Baby has been relegated to the sidelines of musical-comedy memory. The answer becomes apparent soon thereafter, when that old devil “book trouble” overtakes the songwriters. No matter how high lyricist Maltby and composer Shire soar thereafter, the dialogue scenes and schematically skewed plotting interrupt the anticipated bliss of the characters. And of the audience, too."
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"This Baby is on its way, but still has some growing to do. Too many of the book scenes bring the show to a screeching halt, and are in desperate need of trimming. (The aforementioned in-vitro exchange is the worst offender, though a late-show argument between Danny and Lizzie runs a close second.)"
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Trailer

Creative team

Out of the Box Theatrics