BRATTLEBORO — New England Youth Theater presents The Hot l Baltimore, directed by Hallie Flower, April 7-9 and 14-15 at NEYT, 100 Flat St.
The Hotel Baltimore used to be the swankiest place in town but now it has a date with the wrecking ball, and its residents - a rag-tag collection of down-and-outers living on the fringes of society - have just received their eviction notices. So begins the story of The Hot l Baltimore, Lanford Wilson's highly-acclaimed play about the denizens of a dilapidated residential hotel in 1973 Baltimore.
Unexpectedly intimate and moving, The Hot l Baltimore reveals the lives of an unconventional community about to be set adrift once more.
The authentic and gritty dialogue, often overlapping, gives the experience of eavesdropping on real, bustling people in real, bustling time, and helped make Wilson one of the most distinguished American playwrights of the late 20th century.
“For me, The Hot l Baltimore is a play about losers refusing to lose. To me they're brave people. They are survivors,” Wilson has said.
Fierce and honest character portraits make for vibrant performances from every member of the cast, all aged 13-19, according to a news release.
“It's their abiding hunger for life, to persist, to 'keep dancing even when the music has stopped' that makes this play so wonderful,” director Hallie Flower said in the release. “What is evident throughout is the author's immense love and admiration for each one of his wounded characters.”