Expecting Isabel
by Lisa Loomer

May 9 - May 31, 2008
Directed by Brett Young

Having a child is a serious undertaking. Watching Miranda and Nick trying to have a child is seriously funny in Lisa Loomer's EXPECTING ISABEL.

Miranda and Nick are a Manhattan couple in their late thirties who have been married for ten years.

One day, Nick looks up from the sports page to proclaim, "You know what I'd really love? A child."

And so their odyssey begins as they try to grow from a couple into a family. Each brings a different perspective to the prospect. Miranda, who writes condolences for a greeting card company, is a cynical lady with an unpleasant childhood and a boozy mother. Nick, an aspiring sculptor, is an optimist who rejoices about his happy childhood as part of a loud, passionate Italian-American family.

Despite their differences, the husband and wife approach baby-making with equal fervor. When Mother Nature is uncooperative, their journey takes them through a maze of medical specialists, fertility drugs, in vitro fertilization, support groups and self-help books.

When they reach a dead end, the sign reads "adoption" and directs them to a slew of lawyers, new support groups, adoption "facilitators" and numerous young pregnant women who may give their babies up for adoption. Through it all, Miranda and Nick are tested again and again as their finances, their careers and their marriage suffer from the strain. Their journey is maddening, hilarious and ultimately touching by play's end.

Playwright Lisa Loomer has also worked as a screenwriter, an actress and a stand-up comic. She co-wrote the screenplay for GIRL INTERRUPTED, which starred Angelina Jolie and Wynona Ryder. Over the years, she has been the recipient of numerous playwriting awards. For EXPECTING ISABEL in particular, she received an award from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays and the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play. Her work often deals with contemporary family life, particularly the experiences of Latinos and Hispanic-Americans.