Opening/We Start Today Lyrics — Baby

Song Overview

"Opening/We Start Today" is the hinge that sets Baby in motion. The curtain rises on three couples at different life stages, all looking ahead for different reasons, and then the ground shifts under every one of them. In the 1983 Broadway version, the opening does more than introduce characters - it locks the musical's whole premise into place. Parenthood is not treated as one neat story. It lands as surprise, panic, hope, vanity, fear, and comedy all at once.

Review and Highlights

A musical lives or dies by its opening number, and Baby knows that from the first bars. "Opening/We Start Today" has to sketch a world, place three couples on the board, and plant the idea that one diagnosis can split a life into before and after. No small ask. David Shire's music gives the number forward motion without sounding pushy, while Richard Maltby Jr. keeps the lyric conversational enough to feel like real people talking themselves into a future they cannot yet see clearly.

That is the song's first strength - it moves like a city morning and a private tremor at the same time. The couples are not alike, and the song does not flatten them into a slogan. Danny and Lizzie are young and improvising adulthood. Alan and Arlene are older, seasoned, a bit stunned that life still has a plot twist left in it. Pam and Nick are aching for news they have wanted for a long time. When the pregnancies are revealed, the same event hits each pair with a different weather system.

The opening also tells you what kind of musical Baby will be. This is not nursery wallpaper. It is adult musical comedy with nerves. As stated on the MTI synopsis page, the show follows three couples "under three VERY different sets of circumstances." That promise is baked straight into the opening structure. One song, three emotional registers, one big collision point.

What makes the number stick is its refusal to sentimentalize too early. It is hopeful, yes, but not glazed over. It lets amazement, dread, and practical questions share the room. That balance is why the opener still plays. It does not sell parenthood as a poster. It sells it as a life event that scrambles the air.

Baby (1983 Broadway cast recording) - opening ensemble and scene-setting number - diegetic within the story. The opening introduces Danny and Lizzie moving into an off-campus apartment, Alan and Arlene returning from an anniversary trip, and Pam and Nick trying again to conceive. The doctor's office reveal turns the song into the show's ignition switch, because all three women learn they are pregnant at nearly the same moment.

Key Takeaways

• The number functions as a triple-character introduction and a plot detonator.
• Its core idea is not pregnancy in the abstract, but how differently people receive the same news.
• The song sets Baby apart from softer family musicals by letting humor and anxiety arrive together.

Creation History

"Opening/We Start Today" was written for Baby, the Broadway musical with a book by Sybille Pearson, music by David Shire, and lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. The original production opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 4, 1983 and ran through July 1, 1984, earning seven Tony Award nominations, according to IBDB and Playbill. The 1983 cast recording preserves the opening split across "Opening" and "We Start Today," with Kim Criswell on the introductory track and Liz Callaway with Todd Graff leading the main title song on the later digital release listing. That split recording structure is a little theatrical quirk in itself. Onstage, the number plays as one dramatic launch. On album, it becomes a two-step start - curtain up, then heartbeat.

Lyricist Analysis

Maltby's lyric style here is built for clarity under pressure. An opening number has no time for decorative fog. It must place names, relationships, attitudes, and stakes fast. So the language in "We Start Today" leans toward direct statement, brisk image placement, and clean stress patterns that actors can drive without sounding like they swallowed a slogan book.

There is a nice structural trick in the title phrase. "We start today" sounds optimistic, almost ceremonial, but it is also slightly unnerving. Start what, exactly? A family, a compromise, a loss of freedom, a new chapter, a mess? The phrase is flexible enough to hold all of those. That gives the opener real dramatic mileage. Each couple hears the same future in a different key.

Prosodically, the lyric tends to favor speech-rhythm over heavy ornament. That makes sense for a contemporary book musical from the early 1980s. The song needs to sound lived in, not lacquered. The repeated title phrase acts like a refrain and a thesis at once, while the surrounding lines do the necessary character work. In plain terms, the number is a traffic controller. It moves a lot of emotional vehicles at once and somehow keeps the lanes open.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Baby begins by introducing three couples in very different places. Danny and Lizzie are young students moving into an apartment and trying to imagine adult life before they have fully assembled it. Alan and Arlene are older, with grown children and a different view of what the future was supposed to look like. Pam and Nick are already deep in the routine of trying to conceive. According to the MTI synopsis, the women then discover, in the same sequence, that all three are pregnant. That reveal turns the opening from scene painting into plot.

Song Meaning

The meaning of "Opening/We Start Today" is that life can become shared and unstable in the same breath. A beginning sounds hopeful because it points forward, but beginnings also erase the old map. That is the real charge in the song. It is not just about welcoming a child. It is about watching adulthood arrive with new rules before anyone feels fully ready.

There is another layer too. Baby is interested in timing - biological timing, emotional timing, social timing. One couple feels too young, one feels unexpectedly late, one has been waiting and waiting. So when the song says a start has arrived, it is not describing one clean emotion. It is describing a collision between desire and schedule. Anyone who has ever had a life plan laugh in their face will recognize the feeling.

Annotations

We start today.

The title line does a lot of lifting. It sounds brave, but bravery is usually what people say when the floor has moved. The phrase reads like a vow, even though nobody knows the terms yet.

The opening moves across three couples under three different sets of circumstances.

That official framing from MTI is not just marketing copy. It explains the musical's design. The song is built as a comparison engine. Similar news, different reactions, instant drama.

We hear the sound of an embryo's heartbeat.

This detail from the synopsis is the number's quiet jolt. The musical does not rely only on dialogue or lyric to signal change. It uses sound as a threshold. One minute life is going on. The next minute it has a pulse.

Genre and style fusion

The number sits in contemporary Broadway storytelling rather than old-school operetta shape. You can hear book-musical practicality in it - scene, motivation, reveal - but the melodic writing still gives it enough lift to feel like theater rather than pure exposition. That blend is one reason Baby has endured in regional and revival life.

Emotional arc

The arc runs from ordinary momentum to astonishment. At first, everyone is simply living. Then the pregnancies are confirmed, and the song's center shifts from routine to reckoning. It is a clean dramatic pivot, which is exactly what an opener needs.

Cultural and historical touchpoints

Baby opened on Broadway in late 1983, and it carries the flavor of that period's more adult, relationship-driven musicals. Not fairy tale, not rock opera, not nostalgic period piece. According to Playbill, the show earned seven Tony nominations, which says something about how firmly its mix of humor and grown-up complication landed in that Broadway season.

Production and instrumentation

MTI's orchestration listings for Baby songs point to Jonathan Tunick's handiwork elsewhere in the score, and the show's recorded sound has that polished Broadway balance - enough ensemble color to feel expansive, but enough clarity for text and character to stay front and center. In an opening number, that balance is not optional. It is oxygen.

Metaphors and key phrases

The largest symbol is the start itself. "Today" is the dangerous word, because it turns the future from theory into calendar fact. The embryo heartbeat then becomes the show's smallest and biggest symbol at once - tiny sound, huge consequence.

My favorite thing about this opener is how little false reassurance it offers. It does not pat the characters on the head and tell them everything will be lovely. It just says the story has begun. Clean, risky, human.

Technical Information (Quick Facts)

• Song: Opening/We Start Today
• Artist: Baby original Broadway cast
• Featured: Kim Criswell, Liz Callaway, Todd Graff
• Composer: David Shire
• Producer: Original Broadway cast recording producer data not reliably confirmed in the sources reviewed
• Release Date: 1984 cast album release; digital reissue listed July 5, 2024
• Genre: Musical theatre, Broadway ensemble opener
• Instruments: Orchestra, ensemble vocals
• Label: JAY Records on current digital listing
• Mood: anticipatory, anxious, hopeful
• Length: 5:39 as combined LP track listing; digital split listing shows "Opening" 2:03 and "We Start Today" 3:40
• Track #: 1 as combined LP track; split digital listing places "Opening" at 1 and "We Start Today" at 2
• Language: English
• Album: Baby: The New Musical / Baby (Original Broadway Cast)
• Music style: contemporary 1980s Broadway book-musical opener
• Poetic meter: speech-rhythm with recurring refrain accents

Frequently Asked Questions

Who sings "Opening/We Start Today" in Baby?

On current digital listings of the original Broadway cast album, "Opening" is credited to Kim Criswell, while "We Start Today" is credited to Liz Callaway and Todd Graff. In the show, the number functions as a broader ensemble launch.

What happens during the song?

It introduces the three couples and leads into the discovery that all three women are pregnant, which sets the show's central stories in motion.

What is the main idea behind the opening?

The main idea is that a beginning can feel thrilling and destabilizing at the same time. The song frames parenthood as a real-life upheaval, not a greeting card.

Why is the number split on some album listings?

The original LP track is often listed as a combined "Opening / We Start Today," while newer digital platforms split it into separate tracks for the intro and the title song.

Is the song hopeful or nervous?

Both. That mixed feeling is the point. Each couple hears the future differently.

Where does the song sit in the plot?

Right at the start of Act One. It is the inciting song of the musical.

Who wrote it?

David Shire wrote the music, Richard Maltby Jr. wrote the lyrics, and Sybille Pearson wrote the book for the show.

Did Baby receive major awards recognition?

Yes. According to Playbill and IBDB, the original Broadway production earned seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.

Is there a later recording of the song?

Yes. MTI and digital platform listings also point to the 2023 New Off-Broadway cast recording, which includes "Opening: We Start Today."

Awards and Chart Positions

No reliable chart history or certifications were found for the 1983 cast recording track itself. The parent musical did receive major awards recognition. According to Playbill's production page and recap coverage, Baby earned seven Tony Award nominations in 1984, including Best Musical, Best Original Score for Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire, Best Book of a Musical for Sybille Pearson, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Choreography, and featured acting nominations for Liz Callaway and Todd Graff.

Additional Info

• According to IBDB, Baby opened on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 4, 1983 and played 241 performances before closing on July 1, 1984.
• MTI's current materials still foreground "We Start Today" in the song list, which says a lot about the opener's staying power inside the show.
• The later 2023 New Off-Broadway cast recording uses the title "Opening: We Start Today," a useful reminder that the number has long been treated as one continuous dramatic start even when album metadata slices it into parts.

Key Contributors

Sources

Data verified via MTI show and synopsis pages, IBDB Broadway production records, Playbill production coverage, Discogs track listings, and platform metadata for the currently available original-cast digital release. The YouTube figure uses a platform-listed track upload only to anchor a workable video image.