BWW Reviews: Lessons On Dying: THE BALTIMORE WALTZ at Theatre UCF

"It's the language that terrifies me," trembles Anna, a single school teacher, after learning she has been diagnosed with a fatal illness humorously known as Acquired Toilet Disease. Acquired Toilet Disease, or ATD, is no laughing matter! Most commonly contracted through public restrooms in school classrooms, ATD is sweeping the nation and spreading faster than a youtube video.

Carl, Anna's brother, a recently unemployed San Francisco librarian, terminated for wearing the Pink Triangle, decides to take his sister on a vacation. Together they are whisked away on a once in a lifetime journey across Europe. The couple encounters many different characters along the way. But before you begin to think that THE BALTIMORE WALTZ is merely a road trip coming of age play about life and death, it should be advised that; while much of the focus is on Anna during her European sexual walk-a-bout, attention must be paid to Carl, because THE BALTIMORE WALTZ is a distorted "redo," fantasised by a healthy Anna trying to seek reconciliation with her brother, Carl, who is dying of AIDS.

The symbolism in Paula Vogel's manically disjointed memoir, most of which she based on a relationship with her own brother who died of AIDS, are thick and often obtrusive. However, in Julia Listengarten's Black Box production of THE BALTIMORE WALTZ (playing through Sunday September 28th at UCF), the heavy themes and metaphors effortlessly float across the stage, as if by dancing, in a telling that captures the despairing hysteria of the playwright's words.

Julia Listengarten's direction takes the audience on a tumultuous journey, with the help of Connor Edson's versatile set and S. Andrew Mulkey's smokey projections. Listergarten heeds Vogel's stage directions, encouraging a stylized production, and runs with it. Listergarten twists, stretches, and tugs at the progression of time and blurs the lines between reality and fantasy. This is brilliantly captured on stage, at the top of the show, when the Doctor goes into a long winded monologue full of medical jargon. The Doctor climbs the stairs on the rotating set while orderlies turn the set piece, like a dial controlling the speed of the scene, the action slams on the breaks, actors talk and move in slow motion, and all design elements reflect the sudden shift in pace. Thrilling.

At first I was reluctant to learn an ensemble of six was built into this version. Being a supporter of staying true to what the script dictates in cast size, I thought it would not work- perhaps I've seen too many amateur productions of "Fiddler on the Roof" that cram 65 residents of Anatevka onstage. These six worked well doubling as an onstage running crew, and created a sense of claustrophobic paranoia in hospital scenes.

Shanel Sparr, as the sexually frivolous school teacher, does a fine job juggling an emotionally disorganized character. Ms. Sparr's the strongest when Anna has something to fight for. It's easy in a role like this for an actress to play the emotion of a scene rather than the action. At the top of the show we see a bit of this conveyed, but Ms. Sparr quickly corrects and ends up delivering a performance that takes risks and displays many different color changes (beige is not on her palette).

Alex Bair is the strongest in the trio of actors onstage. As Carl, Mr. Bair makes himself present throughout the entire performance even when he is not onstage. Mr. Blair fully embodies his character and slowly reveals his hand that is full of secrets. Mr. Blair is always honest in his performance and never resorts to cliche stereotypes.

Ryan Sutter has got to be exhausted by the time the lights come down after 90 minutes of him jumping in and out of the shoes, hats, accents, and skivvies of over 10 characters. A role like this in the hands of a poor man's character-actor would be excruciating to get through, but luckily no such actor was cast here. Mr. Sutter took the same patience and skill Ms. Sparr and Mr. Blair exhibited with Anna and Carl, and put it to use in every one of his roles.

The production comes full circle with a flatline EKG projected across the set. We are now back in the hospital room, presumably, where we started. While this BALTIMORE WALTZ never solicits the laughs the dark comedy is known for getting, at no time does it risk its integrity, or worse, come across as melodramatic. THE BALTIMORE WALTZ stands out among professional theatre companies in Orlando as being the most imaginative and stimulating production I have seen this season.

THE BALTIMORE WALTZ at UCF concludes its run this weekend. Visit their website for tickets. Photos by Tony Firriolo

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