Written by Christina Anderson
Directed by Kate Whoriskey
Synopsis: Stuck for money and unable to conceive, Gloria enlists the aid of her sister to make the child that she and her husband can't. As they uneasily await the baby's arrival, a mysterious contamination spreads outside. But consumed by their own struggles, is anyone paying attention? In this imaginative, other-worldly new drama by Christina Anderson, one family fights to find its place in a neglected neighborhood. Kate Whoriskey directs a cast led by Tony Award winner LaChanze.
NEW YORK TIMES:
"The director, Kate Whoriskey, whose fine production of Lynn Nottage’s “Ruined” is on view at Manhattan Theater Club, seems flummoxed by the play’s disjointed structure. The pace feels leaden, the bursts of ominous music spurious, and the performers never gain much traction."
Read the whole review HERE.
NEW YORK POST:
"WHEN a character starts talking to a pretzel, it doesn't bode well for a show. If the pretzel has a name and talks back, the shark has been jumped. By the time Greer (Damon Gupton) has his soulful man-to-snack exchange with Petey (uncredited), "Inked Baby" is pretty much beyond repair. And we're not even halfway through this mind-boggling one-acter."
Read the whole review HERE.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS:
"In an author’s note, Anderson says she sought to find “heightened theatrical elements that could live in a naturalistic play world.” She did. She’s crafted a strange and moody work about the ways people are marked by any number of forces — from tattoo ink and the environment, to other people and love."
Read the whole review HERE.
THEATERMANIA:
"There may even be two compelling stories within this 85-minute work. Unfortunately, the playwright's insistence on combining two stylistically different narratives has yielded choppy, unsatisfying results, with neither storyline benefiting from being linked to the other"
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VARIETY:
"Play's difficult subject and mercurial moods are mostly respected by Kate Whoriskey ("Ruined"), who helms a tight ship in this Playwrights Horizons premiere, and by a sterling cast that seems to have taken these decent characters right into their hearts. "
Read the whole review HERE.
BACKSTAGE:
"Watching Christina Anderson's ambitious, imaginative Inked Baby, one suspects that neither director Kate Whoriskey nor some insightful dramaturge ever assured the playwright that her basic tale was enough to move an audience. Lacking such assurance, Inked Baby has a surfeit of themes, variations, and metaphors. The production is beautifully acted, and Anderson's ear for dialogue crackles through unflinchingly real characters, but the final effect is a muddle."
Read the whole review HERE.
