Baby Taj

The legendary Taj Mahal is the next assignment for Rachel, an American travel writer whose failed romances have led her to ask - Why not have the baby she craves - on her own?

She finds unexpected answers and larger questions - among the glittering legacies of India's past

Alive with the sounds and colors of a remarkable country, this bittersweet comedy of mischievous matchmaking raises provocative questions about love, friendship, family, and what it means to be ready to be a parent

Baby Taj had developmental readings at Jeffrey Bihr Studio in Berkeley, California; The Lark Theatre in New York City; and TheatreWorks in Mountain View, California

It premiered at TheatreWorks in October, 2005, in a production directed by Matt August, to great critical acclaim and was selected as one of the Top Ten Shows of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune, and the San Jose Mercury News, and nominated for an American Theatre Critics' Association Steinberg Award and a Bay Area Theatre Critics' Award

"A captivating inquiry into love and freedom ... Thrives on a witty, probing clash between freethinking modernity and tradition" ~ Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle

"A bundle of cross-cultural joy Marries the breezy cynicism of the now with the eternal power of India ... [Shaffer's] ear for mod-groovy lingo gives the play a to-die-for sparkle" ~ Karen D'Souza, San Jose Mercury News

"A beautiful play ... [Shaffer] has brilliantly integrated theatricality through the story of ... the building of this famous fairy tale palace" ~ Richard Connema, Talkin Broadway

Characters ...

RACHEL A 37 year-old Jewish-American woman. Free-spirited travel addict. Single

ANJALI Her best friend, an Indian lesbian in her thirties who has lived in the U.S. for at least nine years. Single

CHANDRA Arustu's wife. Intelligent and quick-tempered. 30-ish

SUNITA A girl in her late teens, servant of the Sharmas

ARUSTU Mrs. Sharma's son. An astrologer. 30s. A prankster

OSHO Chandra and Arustu's six-year-old son

MRS. SHARMA Anjali's grandmother. A stern matriarch from Agra, India. 70s

ABHI Arustu's cousin. Teacher of Hindi, student of history, poet. Intellectual. 30s

NATHAN A friend of Rachel's. 20s or 30s

MIKE A friend of Rachel's. Medical intern. 20s or 30s

TERI Mike's wife. Medical intern also. 20s or 30s

SAM An ex-boyfriend of Rachel's. Mid-30s

MOTHER Abhi's Mother, 50s or 60s

Also COURTIER, LADY, PRINCE, ARJUMAND, GIRL, MAN, and various historical characters who appear only in movement sequences