This overwhelming and intricate ‘portrait of losers’ is the season’s best show
Photo courtesy of Pheonix Theatre.
The work of Landford Wilson, Hot L Baltimore’s playwright, has been described by New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley as “portrait[s] of losers on the margins of life.” Though I can’t speak to his other work, this is an accurate summary of Hot L Baltimore.
The play takes place over a single day in 1972, in a soon-to-be-demolished hotel lobby. The imminent demolition is deeply affecting a community of outcasts who call the hotel home, and over the course of the two-hour play, everyone is forced to decide whether to leave or stay.
The play is a very small snapshot of the lives of eclectic characters. The plot isn’t high stakes. Rather, the conflict is personal, quiet, and dedicated to the individual characters and their interactions.
Those who call the hotel home are the elderly, sex workers, and runaways. For some characters, such as Mr. Morse and Millie, the audience never finds out the exact reason why they came to live in a hotel, though we can certainly infer. Hot L Baltimore isn’t a play to explicitly state its themes.
The characters, such as the cankerous Mr. Morse, can be cruel to each other. But when Jackie robs him, everyone in the hotel takes his side. Even Mrs. Oxenham, the disinterested hotel clerk, helps him down the stairs near the end of the second act.
This type of story, no matter how strong the script is, could easily be brought down by weak direction, acting, stage design, and so on. Despite this, the Phoenix delivers on all fronts.
The hotel residents are loud, with personalities to match, often shouting over each other. All the actors hold their ground (and enunciate clearly) in shouting matches, comedic beats, and quiet moments. Everyone is memorable and does their best to stand out to the audience.
The hotel staff, save for Mr. Katz, are a little quieter by comparison. Though Mr. Katz matches the energy of the residents, he simultaneously plays ‘the straight man’ to their antics. Even the characters with relatively little stage time, such as the mailman, the taxi driver, and the John, all stick out in the audience’s mind.
Hot L Baltimore is a play with a million tiny details demanding audience attention. Multiple conversations overlap and characters enter and exit in the background with only a well-placed car sound effect to announce their arrival. There’s a lot of background action that can steal your attention from the main conversation. While I was able to follow the play, it can be overwhelming, depending on where you direct your focus.
The end of the first act particularly stood out to me. A shouting match breaks out between all the characters. I was completely dumbfounded at the surge of energy — but thoroughly fascinated, anticipating the next act. There is so much action going on, it’s overwhelming. But all the dialogue is so entertaining, I didn’t mind. This is definitely a show you have to see multiple times to catch everything.
At times funny and quietly touching, Hot L Baltimore is a ‘portrait of losers’ that you absolutely shouldn’t miss.
Hot L Baltimore is playing at the Phoenix Theatre until March 23. Tickets can be purchased from the Phoenix Theatre website.
