Durang's Loops
by David C. Jones
Christopher Durang’s comedies were the toast of Off Broadway in the 1980’s. His cynical but sharply satiric dissection of Catholic upbringing, neurotic relationships, insane parents and queer identity permeates all of his work. He uses his childhood rage and caustic wit to craft bizarre and funny comedies that make you laugh while being disturbed. He can be very, very dark – eg: Sister Mary Ignatius shoots a student at point blank range to send him to God - and very absurd.
The challenge of The Baby With The Bathwater – as with all comedies - is to find truth in the absurdity. We have to really believe Sister Mary Ignatius thinks she has to kill that man - and in Baby With The Bathwater we have to really believe that Daisy has been so traumatized that she will lie comatose in laundry baskets and run headlong at buses.
