The Baltimore Waltz is a play by Paula Vogel. Essentially a series of comic vignettes underlined by tragedy, the farce traces the European odyssey of sister and brother Anna and Carl, in search of hedonistic pleasure and a cure for her terminal illness, the fictitious ATD (Acquired Toilet Disease) she contracted by using the bathrooms at the elementary school where she teaches.
Knowing her life is nearing its end, Anna is driven by a lust that compels her to have casual sex with as many men as possible during their travels, a passion shared by her gay brother. Assisting the pair is the mysterious Third Man, a reference to the classic suspense film starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles, to which Vogel frequently alludes in detail.
The play was Vogel's response to the 1988 death of her brother Carl, who died from complications due to AIDS before they were able to enjoy a long planned European vacation.
The Baltimore Waltz was first shown as a workshop at the Perseverance Theatre (Molly D. Smith, artistic director; Deborah B. Baley, producing director) in Douglas, Alaska, in October, 1990.
The Baltimore Waltz was first produced as at the Circle Repertory Company (Tanya Berezin, artistic director) in New York City, in February 1992. It was directed by Anne Bogart, with Cherry Jones as Anna, Richard Thompson as Carl and Joe Mantello as the Third Man. Set Design was by Loy Arcenas, costumes by Walker Hincklin, lighting by Dennis Parichy ans sound score by John Gromada. Denise Yaney was the stage manager and Ronn Smith the dramaturg.1
Obie Awards went to Vogel for Best New American Play, Jones for Best Performance, and Bogart for Best Direction.
The following year it was staged by the Yale Repertory Theater. By then it had become one of the most popular plays for regional theatres throughout the country [1].
An off-Broadway revival produced by the Signature Theatre Company and directed by Mark Brokaw opened on December 5, 2004 at the Peter Norton Space, where it ran for slightly more than a month. The cast was Kristen Johnston as Anna, David Marshall Grant as Carl, and Jeremy Webb as the Third Man.