The Hot l Baltimore
The Hot L Baltimore | |
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Circle in the Square Downtown New York City | |
Original language | English |
Subject | a manager's struggle to maintain order despite the hotel's destruction |
Genre | Comedy |
Setting | The lobby of a seedy run-down hotel in Baltimore |
The Hot L Baltimore is a 1973 American play by Lanford Wilson set in the lobby of the Hotel Baltimore. The plot focuses on the residents of the decaying property, who are faced with eviction when the structure is condemned. The play draws its title from the hotel's neon marquee with a burned-out "e" that was never replaced.
Production history
The Hot L Baltimore was produced by the
The play won the
It was produced at the Williamstown Theater Festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in July 2000, directed by Joe Mantello, with the cast featuring Sam Rockwell, Mandy Siegfried, Lois Smith, Helen Hanft, and Becky Ann Baker.[5] It was then produced by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago from March through May 2011, directed by Tina Landau.[6]
Adaptations
In 1975, producer
In 1976, a version of the series, with the title Hôtel Baltimore, was produced for French television. The series, which featured Dora Doll, lasted for a single season.
Critical reception
Mel Gussow, in his review of the 1973 production for The New York Times, wrote that Wilson "writes with understanding and sensitivity about unwanted people... There are moments in this play... when Wilson - with his passion for idiosyncratic characters, atmospheric details and invented homilies - reminds me of William Saroyan and Thornton Wilder... The play seems to meander... there is little plot or action but there is emotion."[7]
Awards
- 1973: Drama Critics Circle Award for Best American Play
- 1973: Obie Award for Best American Play
References
- ^ ISBN 0838635482, p. 27.
- ISBN 0822205335, p. 4.
- ^ Lortel Archives. Accessed September 2, 2015.
- ^ "Obie Awards, 1970s" Obie Awards. Accessed September 2, 2015.
- ^ Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review. 'Hot L Baltimore'; Life Force In a Hotel Of Broken Dreams" The New York Times, July 10, 2000.
- ^ The Hot L Baltimore Archived 2015-09-11 at the Wayback Machine Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Accessed September 2, 2015.
- ^ Gussow, Mel. "Stage: The Unwanted People of 'Hot L Baltimore'" The New York Times, February 8, 1973, p. 37.
External links
- The Hot l Baltimore at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- The Hot L Baltimore at ThatTheatreSite.com
- Notes and drafts for The Hot L Baltimore are held in the Lanford Wilson Collection at the University of Missouri Libraries