It is not often that I wish I lived in New York. I am a Southern gal through and through and enjoy the milder temperatures of the South. However, my geographical location is causing me to miss out on seeing an interesting off-Broadway play about infertility. I hope that some of my readers can check it out and let me know what they think.
I received an e-mail from Andrew Kaplan about his one-man play, He’s Having a Baby, that that he is performing Off-Broadway in Manhattan. In his e-mail, he told me that he and his wife struggled with infertility, and he wrote this play from the man’s point of view based upon his experiences. They now have three children. (I love a happy ending!)
Mr. Kaplan also sent me a positive review written by Molly Rose Kaufman for The New York Sun. Based upon that review, the play sounds just offbeat enough for me to love it. I really enjoy any production that can take a serious subject and represent it well with lots of heart while making me laugh in the process. There is room aplenty for that when you are talking about infertility.
Even the one less positive part of the review appeals to me:
But while the inclusion of painstaking details is generally effective, the minutiae occasionally bog down the monologue. Is it necessary to mention that Chuv’s [his wife's] medicine came by Federal Express? Frequently, Mr. Kaplan throws out a lot of information very quickly, and some of it gets buried.
I think including the fact that the medicine arrives by Federal Express is hilarious! There is so much about fertility treatments that is completely absurd, but it is hard to laugh about it when you are in the midst of the absurdity. You have to reach a place in your life when you can take a step back and laugh about crazy things like waiting for your FedEx package to arrive so you can become pregnant. For most people, FedEx is not part of the baby-making process.
This part of the review really makes me want to go see it:
But the intimate details work to create an intimate portrait of a relationship. Mr. Kaplan and his wife’s relationship is what anchors the show and gives it a depth beyond the typical male perspective on menstrual cycles and talking sperm. “He’s Having a Baby” is a story of marriage, a strong one.
I am sure my husband had a perspective on our fertility woes, but he sure did not talk about it much. I would love to see the male perspective portrayed from a level of depth.
One of the most important lessons I have learned as a writer is to write what you know. It sounds like Mr. Kaplan has done this. Talk about a great way to make lemonades out of life’s lemons!
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Photo credit: Andrew Kaplan (received through e-mail)
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