Infants in Broadway shows.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 8:57am

Has there ever been a show on Broadway where they used a real infant? Are there rules against this if not?

[LarryD2]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 9:15am

The pre-Broadway production of Porgy and Bess, at A.R.T. in Boston, used cast member Natasha Williams' twin infants as Serena and Jake's baby. However, by the time the production moved to Broadway, they replaced the babies with a doll.

 

I don't have an actual answer to your question and I am not entirely sure what rules are in place to govern the situation. But there are obviously many factors that make using a doll preferable to a real baby. A baby is liable to start crying uncontrollably or to soil its diaper in the middle of a scene. As with most child actors, I imagine you would need to have at least two babies to alternate performances. And they're not just props, like baby dolls, so you would have to pay them.

Updated On: 2/26/16 at 09:15 AM

[SNAFU]

Posted: 2/26/16 at 12:18pm

Pay them and their handlers. Infants don't tend to take direction well. They usually take focus off what is going on around them.

 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/9/19 at 2:03pm

Is the ferryman the first show to use real babies on broadway?

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/9/19 at 2:16pm

Do they make equity minimum?

[starcatchers]

Posted: 1/9/19 at 2:25pm

haterobics said: "Do they make equity minimum?"

They do, actually. 

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 1/9/19 at 2:32pm

I don't think babies should be doing Broadway shows anyway. That kind of environment probably isn't comfortable for them, and incidents could always happen onstage. (Babies aren't dogs; they're tiny humans who are experiencing the world for the first time. You can't just train them to behave a certain way on command.)

[Kitsune]

Posted: 1/9/19 at 2:41pm

The New York Post had an interesting article about it. Apparently, they make $1000/week.

[Wick3]

Posted: 1/9/19 at 3:32pm

Kitsune said: "The New York Post had an interesting article about it. Apparently, they make $1000/week."

Wow!!!!! That's great as that baby makes more money than some of my friends do here in NYC. I do think there should be some restrictions to protect the baby's health. I saw the show a few days ago and there was a scene where Mary Carney brings the baby up the stairs and she almost lost her balance (it was noticeable enough that I gasped.) Perhaps if it's just putting the baby in a crib or something but bringing a baby up and down the stairs may be potentially dangerous for a baby (let alone the actress going up/down the stairs.) I know I know it sounds simple and something every mother does but the possibility of falling is always there and if that does happen and the baby gets injured, who is liable?

[schubox]

Posted: 1/9/19 at 3:32pm

Elfuhbuh said: "I don't think babies should be doing Broadway shows anyway. That kind of environment probably isn't comfortable for them, and incidents could always happen onstage. (Babies aren't dogs; they're tiny humans who are experiencing the world for the first time. You can't just train them to behave a certain way on command.)"

 

there are apparently 4 that rotate for The Ferryman. I saw it last night and the baby was totally calm. At the start of act 2 I was 10 feet from the baby and he was laughing and staring at people in the audience. They probably get used to it 

 

[trpguyy]

Posted: 1/9/19 at 3:54pm

Wick3 said: "... and the baby gets injured, who is liable?"

Worker's Compensation covers injuries at work.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 1/9/19 at 3:59pm

LarryD2 said: "As with most child actors, I imagine you would need to have at least two babies to alternate performances."

Other than a (presumable) need for understudies, there is no legal requirement requiring alternates for child performers. 

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 1/9/19 at 4:20pm

In 2016, Steppenwolf's production of Mary Page Marlowe featured an infant on stage in one scene during previews, but they ultimately replaced the babies with a doll. Apparently too many audience members were concerned that it took them out of the play. Did the off-Broadway production last summer also use a doll?

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/9/19 at 4:55pm

Ravenclaw said: "Did the off-Broadway production last summer also use a doll?"

 

yes it did. And this was a case where I actually think the play would have benefited from a real infant. A huge part of the show is seeing Mary Page at different ages throughout her life, always played by a different actress - even when they could have double-cast some of them. To me, it highlighted how people change so drastically over the course of their lives. And having her played by a real human baby instead of a doll in that scene would have heightened that effect even more. Then it truly would have been one actor for every age we see. 

 

(EDIT: I’m remembering now that I think some actors did play her at more than one age - but my point remains the same. They created a striking effect by having so many actresses play one character, that would have been aided by having a baby) 

 

Updated On: 1/9/19 at 04:55 PM