What: 'Baby'
When: November 7-8, 11-15 at 7:30pm; and November 8-9 at 2:30pm
Cost: General Public-$12 and Students-$10
Where: Strother Studio Theatre
In their senior year as musical theater majors, best friends Sam Malone and Laura Sportiello finally have what Sportiello calls “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to act together in Ball State’s production of the musical “Baby”.
After meeting during their freshman year, the two actresses have been best friends but have never had the chance to work on the same production together, despite their shared major. Now, under the direction of Bill Jenkins, chair of the department of theatre and dance, they have that opportunity.
The musical follows the lives of three couples of varying ages “who struggle through the realities, the ups and the downs, of the most remarkable process people can experience — having a baby,” said Jenkins.
Jenkins has wanted to do this show at Ball State for 15 years, and his dream is finally coming true. Jenkins said the fact that he has been interested in the show for such a long time provides him with an interesting perspective on the characters.
“When I was younger, I identified with the younger couple, then later I identified with the mid-aged couple, and now I identify with the older couple,” he said. “I’m really trying with this show to make the story applicable to anyone who’s gone through or who hopes to someday have a baby. This is a universal story, and I want to make that come through.”
One of the technical aspects of the production is that it will be shown in the “round,” with audience members seated on all sides of the action. This is the first show in the history of the Strother Studio Series that will utilize individual microphones on each of the performers. This, along with the live band providing the music for the show (which Jenkins describes as “’80s rock-n-roll meets musical theater”), will assist the audience in feeling that they truly are “right on top of the action,” Jenkins said.
In this production, Malone plays Pam Sakarian, a basketball coach in her 30s who wants to have a baby but is struggling with the fact that her husband faces reproductive health issues.
“Pam is full of energy and is determined with everything in her life, including having a baby,” Malone said.
Sportiello, on the other hand, plays Arlene McNalley, a 43-year-old mother of three girls who have already moved out to go to school. As she and her husband struggle to adjust to life as a couple again instead of the focus being on parents, they discover that she has become pregnant and have to face a difficult decision as to how to move forward.
“Arlene goes back and forth between making this choice for herself, for her and her husband, or for her family as a whole,” Sportiello said.
In “Baby,” the three women’s lives intersect because they all go to the same doctor. According to Sportiello, the dynamic between her and Malone’s characters have been especially interesting because of their friendship in real life.
“When they first meet, they don’t like each other at all,” she said. “Pam is so energetic and vibrant, and Arlene is so quiet and grounded. But, over the course of one scene, their relationship takes a turn where they bring each other to the point of being able to let loose and lean on each other, which is so similar to the way Sam and I are; we do that for each other too.”
According to Malone, she and Sportiello are practically sisters, and it has been “beautiful” to put this show together with her.
“Having my best friend’s energy in the room makes me feel fearless,” she said. “It’s really been a gift, and it has brought me so much confidence in knowing that I’m working with someone who loves me so much.”
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