SU Department of Drama explores AIDS crisis in ‘The Baltimore Waltz’
A series of comic vignettes tells a much more serious story about siblings dealing with the stages of grief in the Syracuse University Department of Drama’s latest play, “The Baltimore Waltz.”
The Obie Award-winning show, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel, opened at the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama Complex on Friday. It displays elements of love and loss as its characters discover themselves, and the actors involved made their own personal connections, too.
The play stars students from the Department of Drama in SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. “The Baltimore Waltz” describes the story of siblings Anna and Carl through their trip in Europe to find a cure for Anna’s mysterious disease.
While Anna sees the trip as an opportunity to live her life to the fullest and galavant with men, her brother is left alone to explore the beauty of European cities. But the audience soon learns of the play’s harsh reality: The trip never took place, and the “waltz” through Europe only happened in Anna’s imagination as she coped with the fact that Carl is dying from AIDS in a Baltimore hospital.
“It’s a great measure of what has changed in our culture since the AIDS crisis and what has not changed,” said Katherine McGerr, the play’s director and an assistant professor of acting in the department, in an email. “It’s timely, but the story of grief and of the bond between a brother and sister is timeless.”
Shanel Bailey, who portrays the role of Anna, said she was able to make her own connection to the character since she herself is a little sister.
“At its core, this story is about a brother and a sister, and that is something that almost anyone can connect to,” Bailey said in an email.
Anna’s travels and connections with Carl reminded Bailey of the adventures she and her older brother had as children. She and her brother used to go on secret missions and make up their own language, she said.
Bailey previously starred in the Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production of “Mary Poppins” and in the Black Box Players production of “And the Women Cried.”
Shanel Bailey previously starred in the Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production of “Mary Poppins.” Courtesy of Michael Davis
The role of Carl is played by Cormac Bohan, whose previous acting experience at the Saratoga Shakespeare Company includes Montfleury in “Cyrano” and Leonato in the intern production of “As You Like It.”
Sarah Hubner, playing the Third Man, skips from one role to another. She impersonates doctors, is Anna’s lover, is Carl’s secret friend and even has the role of a narrator, introducing the audience to the different phases of grief.
“The audience can expect to travel with us on a suspenseful adventure filled with mystery, romance and loss,” Hubner said in an email.
Each cast member made an effort to research the cultural climates of both the United States and Europe during the 1980s, when the play is set. They paid attention to details about the AIDS crisis, the stages of grief and the gay community. Bailey said McGerr made sure to instill in the actors the importance of this research as it related to their performances.
“We wanted to do as much homework as we could on this show to really know what we were talking about and to have this knowledge influence our approach to this story and our characters,” Bailey said.
The message of the show as explained by the cast is to live and love fully while you have the opportunity.
Bailey said: “Why wait to live until the chance is almost taken away instead of living in the moment and experiencing as much as we can?”
“The Baltimore Waltz” is being shown at the Storch Theater, which is located inside the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama Complex at 820 E. Genesee Street. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Syracuse Stage Box Office.
