Theater Review: tiny father

To be memorable, characters must have an arc, an emotional journey that changes them forever—or at least for final curtain. And what a journey Daniel (Maurice Williams) takes in the west coast premiere of tiny father at the Geffen Playhouse. In shifts subtle and substantial, playwright Mike Lew guides Daniel across a perilous landscape of shock, pain, anger, uncertainty, joy and love. That’s a lot to navigate.

By the end Daniel is indeed changed. What makes tiny father such a delight is that his changes, as embodied in a beautiful performance by Williams, ring true. We may not completely identify with Daniel or his choices, but we grow to understand and respect him.

Daniel is new father to a premature baby that is an unexpected friends-with-benefits byproduct. The action takes place in a neonatal intensive care unit, where nurse Caroline (Tiffany Villarin) is caring for the 14-week-early newborn in an isolette.

When Daniel arrives, he makes it clear that he is not a typical, or even willing, father. “She looks f**ked up,” he proclaims, immediately defining his relationship not only with his new daughter, but with the nurse who is there solely to protect her. She tells Daniel that babies are “enormously resilient, especially the girls.” Rather than reassuring him, he asks defensively about boys. And off they go.

Two people who spend as much time together as Daniel and Caroline are bound to reveal themselves to each other. Daniel is the more open of the two; we learn about Caroline’s home life mostly from phone conversations she has when alone. But these two very different people do learn to trust each other, which is why when that trust is upended, it resonates so strongly.

The three-month timeframe for the baby to develop and breathe on her own sets parameters for the play. Her weight is measured in grams. The number of days of her life is projected at the sides of the stage as the isolette and its privacy curtains rotate to come at the story from different angles. It all adds up to a well-structured series of steps that don’t always go in a predictable direction. Director Moritz von Stuelpnagel balances the darker emotions that play out under the harsh hospital lights with the welcome and well-played comedic elements.

This two-hander feels larger due to the stellar performances, but also to big-theater staging (Darlene Miyakawa), scenic design (David Meyer), lighting (Pablo Santiago) and sound design (Uptownworks). Tiny father would work on a small stage without the glitz, but the glitz ups the energy and the already-high stakes.

“tiny father” at the Geffen Playhouse’s Gil Cates Theater runs through July 14 Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 3:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. Wednesday performances have talkbacks afterwards; performances on June 30 and July 7 are ASL-interpreted. There is no performance on July 4. Tickets are available here for prices ranging from $45-139.