The Baby Dance
by Gardner Mckay, Jane Anderson

The Baby Dance Book Cover
The Baby Dance Cover

Highlights

105 minsPresent DayEnsemble CastInterior SetContemporary Costumes/Street ClothesAmericanComedy

What readers are saying

Readers appreciate the emotional depth and sincerity of the play. Many find its exploration of adoption and family dynamics both heartbreaking and relatable. The humor interspersed within the serious themes adds to the overall engaging experience.

Heartbreaking emotional depthRelatable family dynamicsClever and humorous linesA bit old hat

Synopsis

A desperate L.A. professional couple, unable to have children, arrange to buy the unborn baby of a dirt-poor Louisiana pair.

Emotions run high and relationships hang by a thread in this passionate and heartbreaking Off-Broadway drama by Mad Man writer Jane Anderson.

It is a play that audiences will take home with them; it might provoke disagreement, as do the issues themselves.

Press Reviews

"An absolutely brilliant piece of playwriting."

— Kansas City Star

"Rich language, broad humor, and true wit - an authentic piece of literature."

— Missouri Rep

Characters

Character
DICK CURRAN

[cur-ren] - The oldest human being alive at Cliffhorn Heads, a bit wise, a bit adream.

SHOUTER MACTOMAS

[moc-toe-maash] -  Another ancient, a man of bearing, a man of old rules and superstitions.

SMIGGY FLAHERTY

[FLAH-herty] - Colm's age, his closest friend. A quiet man, gently spoken, strong as the rest.

ROISIN FLAHERTY(Smiggy's wife)

[ROE-sheen flah-herty] - Smiggy's wife. A handsome, erect woman of the same age.

CIARAN JOYCE

[keer-on] - Not yet twenty and anxious to get off the island

GOBNAT CONNEELY

[gaub-nit coe-neely] - Martin's very young wife. Helps him in the pub and still shy about it.

TIM-COLIE CURRAN

[tim-coalie] - Ciaran's age. Deaf and mute; and so maybe the finest instinctive fisher.

REDMOND CURRAN

[cur-ren] - Maybe 40. The new king. A man embittered by the abandonment of the island, especially by Colm's.

DEARBHLA CONNEELY

[der-vlah COE-neely]: Nearly as old as Dick. A seeress, whose finger is on the island's pulse.

MARTIN CONNEELY

[COE-neely] - Middle-aged owner of the Captain's Public Drinking House. Guiness importer, fish exporter, ex-postmaster, wood seller.

FATHER DIRANE

[deer-RON] - Middle-aged or older. An outdoor priest, proud of his parish at the Heads.

AIDAN CURRAN(Redmond's son)

[aid'n] - Redmond's son, undecided: to leave the island or become a lifer. Ciaran's age.

COLM PRIMROSE

[coal-l'm] - In his thirties. A returned islandman, the MacAfee's step-son. The would-be king.

THE MACAFEE

[mac-uh-fee] - Old. The revenant of Colm's step-father and fishing partner. Bearded.

LIAM FLAHERTY

[LEE-um flah-herty] - A fisher of Colm's age, steady, just as strong but more withdrawn than the others.

CAPT DEREK CHAMBERS

Of the beam-trawler Surprise. British. Colm age, neatly bearded, midlands accent.

Publication

PublisherSamuel French
Year1992
BindingPaperback
Pages84
PlaceNew York
LanguageEnglish
ISBN-139780573692987
ISBN-10057369298X
LCCN92174323
LCCPS3551.N3677 B33 1992
DCC812/.54

The Baby Dance is a American comedy play written by Gardner Mckay and published by Samuel French in New York (1992).

Digital editions available on Amazon Kindle.

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Rating

3.7

53 ratings·166 reviews

Review

Buy Play

Paperback

Samuel French · 1992 · 84 pp

From C$47.98

Digital prices may vary by region and tax jurisdiction.

Performance Rights

Available for Licensing
Amateur Only
Fee:Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

Restrictions: Major Markets Only (US) / Standard Restriction (UK)

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