Quantum Theatre Presents: The Electric Baby

David Lindsey-Abaire was challenged to create a work that was different from all his others, one that dealt with something he could not imagine happening to him—something that would be the greatest hardship he would ever face in his life. What he ended up with was the Pulitzer Prize winning play, Rabbit Hole, which focuses on the horrifying reality of parents losing a child and what happens to them and their relationship afterwards.

Stefanie Zadravec wrote about very similar things in her play The Electric Baby, which is being produced as a world premiere by Quantum Theatre at The Waldorf School of Pittsburgh. In her 90-minute, episodic play, Zadravec cleverly intertwines the lives of eight people in their search for their place in the world. Being set in and inspired by Pittsburgh, with familiar street names and full of local idioms, it’s likely to please the audiences at The Waldorf School as they feel almost connected to the story and its complex characters. However, the themes of this play are truly universal and offer a sense of global community, allowing it to be performed anywhere with the same effect it has in Pittsburgh. The two storytellers of this play, Natalia (Robin Abramson) and Ambimbola (Monteze Freeland) are a couple not from Pittsburgh, but who chose separately to create a life here and found each other. These two people, from Europe and Africa, demonstrate the universality of the plays themes—that you are never alone and whatever struggles you are facing, you can overcome them with the help of those around you.
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