Baby With the Bathwater

Synopsis

THE STORY: As the play begins Helen and John gaze proudly at their new offspring, a bit disappointed that it doesn’t speak English and too polite to check its sex. So they decide that the child is a girl and name it Daisy—which leads to all manner of future emotional and personality problems when it turns out that Daisy is actually a boy. Thereafter, in a series of brilliantly theatrical and wildly hilarious scenes, the saga of Daisy’s struggle to establish his identity continues, despite his parents’ growing obliviousness. At the outset there is a zany nanny who gives him a lethal toy to play with; then the small problem of Daisy’s penchant, as a toddler, for throwing himself in front of buses; then his bizarre problems in school; and, finally, the sessions with his analyst which enable him, at last, to accept his maleness and stop wearing dresses. In the end the play comes full circles as the former Daisy and his young bride fondly regard their own baby—forgiving of the past but determined not to repeat its calamitous mistakes.

Teacher Notes