And Baby Makes Seven premieres at Andreas Theatre

And Baby Makes Seven is a comedy that will be performed in the Andreas Theatre of the Earley Performing Arts Center from March 29 to April 1.

Written by Paula Vogel, And Baby Makes Seven follows three characters as they wait for the birth of their child. Their small apartment is already filled to capacity because two of the characters, Anna and Ruth, have a habit of pretending to be imaginary children they’ve created. Anna, who is pregnant, often acts as Cecil, a 9-year-old genius. Ruth, Anna’s partner, has two alternate personalities of Orphan, a child brought up by stray dogs, and Henri, a French boy from the film The Red Balloon. Orphan, Henri, and Cecil argue and cause trouble, which drives their “Uncle Peter” insane.

The children take on lives of their own and often appear as completely separate characters from Anna and Ruth. Peter, a gay man and the father of Anna’s child, insists that these imaginary children must go to make room for their real child that will soon be on the way. The women agree that they can’t simply stop being their imaginary children. They must, instead, kill them off. Hilarity ensues as the family finds killing off their imaginary children isn’t as easy as it seems.

Set in 1984, And Baby Makes Seven shows an LGBTQA family in a time when their family dynamic was “abnormal.” During this time, this would be looked down upon by others and was even punishable by law. The show strives to help audiences see the three characters not as an LGBTQA family, but simply a family. The director, Kristin Fox, wanted to direct And Baby Makes Seven to spread the idea that this family should be nothing out of the ordinary.

They are an everyday family living their everyday lives. In her director’s notes for the show, Fox writes, “I made it my mission to make this a play about a family, parents and children, living together in a cozy apartment in New York City in the 1980s.” She quickly discovered the play went even deeper than she knew.

She writes, “It is about an LGBTQA family trying to learn how to love each other, be happy, and survive in a world that would rather not acknowledge their existence. This story is important because it shows us how far we’ve come in acceptance and equality, as well as how far we have to go.”

And Baby Makes Seven addresses a serious issue while balancing it with a lot of comedy. The result is a deep but also hilarious show about a loving family that will leave audiences feeling both entertained and enlightened.

And Baby Makes Seven opens Wednesday, March 29, and will run through Saturday, April 1. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. nightly. Tickets are available for purchase in the Performing Arts box office from 4 to 6 p.m. on weekdays, or an hour prior to each show. Tickets are $16 for general admission and $11 for current MNSU students.