Lorain County Metro Parks and TrueNorth Cultural Arts will present the Ohio premiere of the updated version of the musical Baby that was originally seen at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey.  Richard Maltby, Jr. and Music Theatre International have authorized the use of the new script, and are using this production as an opportunity to finalize their new libretto and score. In order to do that, MTI will be sending an arranger to work with the cast and orchestra during the rehearsal period.

Performances at the French Creek Nature Center in Sheffield Village, OH, are scheduled for March 5-21 with show times at 7:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays and at 3pm on Sundays. Award winning director Fred Sternfeld (Yellowman at Karamu, Ragtime at JCC, Beauty and the Beast at Beck Center) will direct with musical direction by Rick Fortney and choreography by Bebe Weinberg Katz. This play is rated PG-13 for some language

The cast will feature some of Northeast Ohio’s top musical theatre talent, including Natalie Green (Belle in Beauty and the Beast at Beck Center & Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice at Lakeland Theatre) as Lizzie, Shane Joseph Siniscalchi (Jesus in Godspell at Old Town Hall & Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods at FPAC) as Danny, David Robeano (Hank in Saturday Night at Beck Center & Sancho in Man of La Mancha at JCC) as Nick, Maggie Stahl-Floriano (Mother in Ragtime at JCC & Mrs. Darling in Peter Pan at Beck Center) as Pam, Michael Dempsey (Medvedenko in The Seagull at Beck Center & Mordcha in Fiddler on the Roof at Cain Park) as Alan and Bernadette Hisey (Anna in The King and I & Kate in Kiss Me Kate at Mighty Goliath) as Arlene. The company will also feature Douglas Brill, Brian Bowers, Kimberly Aldrich-Ceja, Lydia Hall, Lauren Skirbunt, Jessica Mester and Susan Watson.  

            “My first contact with the musical BABY was in 1985 when my wife Randi and I saw it in Dallas.” comments director Fred Sternfeld.  “We loved it! It was charming, humorous and poignant. We had only been married for two years and were just in the planning stage for when we would have our first child.  So BABY has been on my "must do" list for 25 years!  I am grateful to Rick Fortney for the opportunity to help share this wonderful musical with the community.”

Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire’s musical Baby is a humorous and poignant look at three couples whose lives are affected in various ways by the prospect of having (or not having) a baby. It features a book by Sybille Pearson. The musical played Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theatre Nov. 8, 1983-July 1, 1984. The original cast included Liz Callaway, Todd Graff, James Congdon, Martin Vidnovic, Beth Fowler and Catherine Cox. The Maltby/Shire score includes such tunes as "At Night She Comes Home to Me," "I Chose Right," "The Story Goes On," "Easier to Love," "Two People in Love," "With You," "I Want It All" and "And What If We Had Loved Like That."

TrueNorth performs at the French Creek Nature Center, which is located at 4530 Colorado Avenue. For tickets call (440) 949-5200. The Morning Journal is a sponsor of TrueNorth’s 2009-2010 Theatre Season.

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