A Child Is Born

A CHILD IS BORN

A Child Is Born, Stan Nevin’s drama on just that subject, was clearly intended to be a powerful, socially relevant work. But as they say, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Writing a politically correct play seems to have been Nevin’s intention, and at that he succeeds. A Child Is Born is full of such pertinent fiery issues as rape, race relations, abortion, and marital infidelity. It has intelligent, meaty roles for women, blacks, Jews, and Catholics. It’s a play of healing and hope. And, alas, it’s pathetically insipid.

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“Socially relevant” has been a buzzword in the arts for a long time. Nevin has jumped on the bandwagon with A Child Is Born, but he seems to have forgotten that a play has to be interesting before it can be socially relevant. And to be interesting it has to be believable. Not only is Nevin’s plot unconvincing, his dialogue is full of trite phrases like “Something has come between us” and “Why won’t you let anyone help you?” The cast handle these with surprising aplomb, but unfortunately their performances can’t carry the script.