The Hot L Baltimore

Hot L Baltimore, The (1973), a play by Lanford Wilson. [ Circle in the Square, 1,166 perf.; NYDCC Award.] The Hotel Baltimore, once fashionable but now home to prostitutes, petty thieves, drifters, and indigents, has become seedy. The “e” in “hotel” in its sign has gone out, but no one has bothered to replace it since the building is about to be torn down. Little happens in the Chekhovian character piece: people reminisce about their past, the prostitutes come and go with their trade, one tenant robs another, and a young man comes seeking his grandfather who may or may not have lived there. Originally produced Off Off Broadway by the Circle Repertory Company, the compassionate ensemble piece was remounted by producers Kermit Bloomgarden and Roger Ailes for a long run. The play marked the first major success for playwright Wilson, director Marshall W. Mason, and actor Judd Hirsch, who played the night clerk Bill.