Go See StraY Dog Theatre this weekend! $5!!

'THE BALTIMORE WALTZ'
By Calvin Wilson
POST-DISPATCH THEATRE

Deeply moving

Grief and the challenges of coping with it was
the inspiration for "The Baltimore Waltz," Paula
Vogel's semi-autobiographical play about a brother,
a sister and a crisis. But seldom has such a potentially
depressing subject been approached with such
exuberant wit. This Stray Dog Theatre production of
the celebrated comedy-drama is likely to elicit as many
laughs as tears.

Michelle Hand turns in a winning performance as Anna,
whose devotion to her brother Carl (a wonderful B. Weller)
is reaffirmed when they're confronted with a deadly disease.
In response to the threat, the siblings decide to go on
a long-deferred trip. Along the way, they encounter quite a
few quirky characters all of them spiritedly played by Will Ledbetter.

Satirically addressing the AIDS crisis and the early response
to it, Vogel delivers a play that's at once smartly observant
and deeply moving. And director Gary F. Bell brings out both
aspects of the material in fine style.

BY CALVIN WILSON