Baby (musical)

Baby
Original Broadway poster
Music	David Shire
Lyrics	Richard Maltby, Jr.
Book	Sybille Pearson
Productions	1983 Broadway 2004 Manila 2011 Brazil

Baby is a musical with a book by Sybille Pearson, based on a story developed with Susan Yankowitz, music by David Shire, and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr.. It concerns the reactions of three couples each expecting a child. The musical first ran on Broadway from 1983 to 1984.

Three couples, each newly expecting a child, have different but familiar reactions. Lizzie and Danny are university juniors who have just moved in together. Athletic Pam and her husband, Nick, a sports instructor, have had some trouble conceiving. Arlene, already the mother of three grown daughters, is unsure of what to do, contemplating abortion while her husband Alan is thrilled with the thought of a new baby. Throughout the show, these characters experience the emotional stresses and triumphs, the desperate lows and the comic highs, that accompany the anticipation and arrival of a baby.

"Baby, Baby, Baby (Reprise)" was replaced in the initial run and the original cast recording with the song "Patterns," wherein Arlene contemplates her circular life as mother and wife.

"The End of Summer" was written for the Paper Mill Playhouse production, and is now part of the newly revised score available for licensing.

"With You" and "And What If We Had Loved Like That" are in reverse order in the new libretto.

The Broadway production, directed by Richard Maltby, Jr. and choreographed by Wayne Cilento, opened on December 4, 1983 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, where it ran for 241 performances and 35 previews. The cast included Liz Callaway as Lizzie Fields, Beth Fowler as Arlene McNally, Todd Graff as Danny Hooper, Catherine Cox as Pam Sakarian, James Congdon as Alan McNally, and Martin Vidnovic as Nick Sakarian. Set design was by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Jennifer von Mayrhauser, and lighting design by Pat Collins.