Baby with the Bathwater

Parenthood is terrifying, especially for the couple in Christopher Durang’s strange and delightfully absurd Baby with the Bathwater. First produced in 1983, the dark comedy helped put Durang on the map. The story follows a young couple named Helen and John through their troubling years of parenthood. After they bring home their firstborn, they’re disappointed that it doesn’t speak English. They go on to make terrible and multiple mistakes, one of which is to assume their child is a girl when actually, he’s a boy. They hire a cruel nanny who doesn’t believe in cuddling children and gives the baby a rattle made of asbestos. The New Yorker once called Durang “one of the funniest dramatists alive.” See for yourself at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Through September 6. Country Playhouse, 12802 Queensbury. For information, call 713-467-4497 or visit www.countryplayhouse.org. $12.
Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m. Starts: Aug. 22. Continues through Sept. 6, 2008