UB Department of Theatre and Dance to present Hot L Baltimore

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Department of Theatre and Dance at the University at Buffalo will present Hot L Baltimore on April 20-22 at 8 p.m. and April 23 at 2 p.m. in the Blackbox Theatre, located at the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

Hot L Baltimore is Lanford Wilson's funny and deeply moving ode to the spirit of America as seen through the eyes of the residents of a run-down hotel in Baltimore. Set in the early 1970s, the play was a seminal theater event in that period and won many prestigious awards, including the New York Drama Critic's Award, during its Off-Broadway and Broadway runs. It spawned a network television series shortly thereafter and has delighted thousands of audiences and been a staple of the American contemporary theater for more than 30 years.

This production inaugurates the department's "poor theatre" slot, which focuses on the actor as the center of the creative process.

Director of the play is Gerald Finnegan, associate professor of theatre and dance at UB, where he serves as coordinator of the bachelor of fine arts in theatre (acting) program.  He recently played a feature role in The Puffy Chair, a film selected for last year's prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

Tickets for Hot L Baltimore are $8. Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS. The Center for the Arts is a Ticketfast location.