I am in this play, opening May 8th, 2010. And, every time I read it I get depressed. This is because it is a depressing play about sad people in difficult times. A depressing but terrifically well rendered play. Simple at first glance but with so many layers that it's amazing.
Lanford Wilson wrote the play in 1972 and it was an off-broadway phenomenon. In fact, Wilson is credited as one of the founders of the off-broadway movement. This means that Tony awards were not to be but he won a Drama Desk and an Obie.
The play was so successful that it was picked up by Norman Lear (the man who brought us Archie Bunker and Maude and the Jeffersons to name a few) for a short-lived TV series of the same name. This was the first (and one of very few still) that featured prostitutes and homosexuals in lead roles.
The sassy actress Conchata Ferrell (that's how the Internet spells her name) was in both the play and the TV series but it would be 30 more years before she was recognized for her unique talents by Emmy voters. This time for her turn as Charlie Sheen's maid in Two and a Half Men.
Now for all the degrees of separation from the original Hot L Baltimore and the one opening at Swedenborg Hall on May 8th:
My own fiance, Jennie Olson, plays The Girl opposite me.
Director DJ Sullivan was in an acclaimed version of the play at San Diego's Old Globe theatre in the 70s.
Playwright Lanford Wilson lived briefly in San Diego and attended, also briefly, San Diego State.
Wilson was also the roommate in New York of Jennie Olson's dear friend Anthony who remembers wild times...
DJ Sullivan and Conchata Ferrell auditioned for more than 50 of the same commercials, films and TV series and know each other by reputation. "We were the two big ladies of a certain age in LA at the time," says DJ of her time auditioning against Ferrell in the 70s and 80s.
Another member of the original cast was Judd Hirsch. I play this part in San Diego. There is no degree of separation other than that I have watched every Taxi episode at least three times and can do a spot-on impersonation of Judd Hirsch. DJ Sullivan frowns on this and asks me to find my own way in this play.
My questions for Messers Wilson and Hirsch and Ms. Ferrell are these:
Was it depressing for you? What did you do to combat the sadness, especially for eight shows a week? Would you do the play again if you could? Wanna see the play in San Diego?
Here's the information:
THE HOT L BALTIMORE by Lanford Wilson
Directed by DJ Sullivan, produced by the Sullivan Players
Performs at 7:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays (May 8-30) at Swedenborg Hall.
Tickets ($15 general and $12 for students, seniors, military and Actors Alliance) available one hour prior to curtain. Map and directions.
