The Kid is a musical with a book by Michael Zam, music composed by Andy Monroe and lyrics by Jack Lechner. The comic story concerns an open adoption process by a same-sex couple. It is based on the 1999 non-fiction book by Dan Savage, The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant. The protagonist, Dan, is a sex advice columnist who decides to adopt a child with his partner Terry. Throughout the musical the couple encounter difficulties including making the decision to adopt, finding a birth mother, and overcoming apprehension about the adoption process.
The musical premiered on May 10, 2010 Off-Broadway, starring Christopher Sieber as Dan. It received a generally favorable reception and received five Drama Desk Award nominations in 2011, including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Lyrics and Outstanding Book of a Musical;
Plot
Act I
Dan is a gay sex advice columnist ("I'm Asking You"), and his partner is Terry. The two initially become involved in a relationship with each other after bonding over a discussion of Gore Vidal ("Gore Vidal"). In a later scene, Dan attempts to convince Terry to leave a bathroom in a hotel where he locked himself inside after the two have an argument ("Terry..."). The couple meet with other individuals who are looking to become parents and adopt children ("They Hate Us"). Dan composes a satirical letter to potential birth mothers listing entries which should obviously not be included ("If You Give Us Your Baby"). Dan and Terry meet with an adoption counselor named Anne to go over their worries about becoming parents. The adoption counselor tells them, "Man or woman, gay or straight, what you're facing is a long, long wait." The couple decide upon an open adoption process, where they will be able to meet the baby's birth mother. Melissa, a teenager who is pregnant and homeless, selects them as the couple to care for her child ("Her Name Is Melissa"). She describes her life to Dan and Terry ("Spare Changin'").
Act II
Dan's mother informs him she knew he was gay as a child but did not meddle in his process of becoming a gay adult ("I Knew"). She reassures him during a period of nervousness, telling Dan, "If you think this is scary, wait. Do you know how terrified I was when you first had measles?" Bacchus, the biological father of Melissa's child, appears and becomes involved in the decision regarding the outcome for the baby ("Behind the Wheel"). Dan and Terry worry over whether Melissa will change her mind during the adoption process ("42 Hours"). After the child is born, the couple share the experience of holding their new baby together ("Beautiful"), and all ends happily ("My Kid").
Musical numbers
Act I
I'm Asking You – Company
The Kid – Dan, Dan's Mother
Terry... – Dan, Terry
They Hate Us – Company
The Kid (Reprise) – Ruth, Dan, Terry
Nice – Anne, Dan, Terry
Gore Vidal – Terry, Dan
If You Give Us Your Baby – Dan, Terry, Susan
Seize the Day – Company
Her Name is Melissa – Dan, Terry, Anne
Spare Changin' – Melissa
What Do You Say? – Company
Act II
We're Asking You – Ensemble
It's Not Your Baby – Anne, Dan, Terry
When They Put Him In Your Arms – Dan, Terry
It Gets Better – Company
Behind the Wheel – Bacchus
I Knew – Dan's Mother
Beautiful – Terry, Dan
42 Hours – Dan, Terry, Melissa
My Kid – Dan
Background
Production on the musical began in 2005. Zam and Monroe had both previously read Savage's book. Monroe approached Zam and told him he thought the material would make a good musical. Zam and Monroe contacted Lechner, as they wished to have him involved in the musical's production process. In an interview with The New York Times, Zam later commented, "We also wanted to create a musical that was true to the experiences of Dan Savage and his partner, Terry, capture the essence of who they were, without just imposing our own plot and music on their lives. But it was also thrilling to create a show around a person who is not your standard role-model character, who is insightful about his foibles and admits to them and who has all these powerful emotions that we knew – somehow – could be turned into powerful songs."