Fans of racy comedies on stage should take notice – NHTI’s Stage Lynx drama club is going to put one on this weekend, and you won’t want to miss it.
The troupe will perform The Hot L Baltimore, a comedy by Lanford Wilson, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the school’s Sweeney Auditorium. The show revolves around the residents of a decaying hotel who face eviction when the property is condemned. (The title refers to the hotel’s neon sign, which is missing the “e” in the word “hotel.”) First produced in 1973, the show won that year’s Drama Critics’ Circle Award and the Obie Award for Best American Play.
“It’s an interesting play,” said director Bill Maher. “It’s basically plotless. The through-line is the demolition of the hotel itself, and the folks being dispossessed – they gotta find somewhere to live.”
Admittedly, that sounds a little heavy and borderline depressing, and not much like a comedy. But, Maher promised, “it’s actually funny – there’s a lot of humor in the play.”
The show will also be a little unusual in its form. There are many characters – ranging in age from 19 to a man in his 70s – who often occupy the stage at once. “It’s almost like everyone who is on stage is a lead,” Maher said.
One thing to take note of is the show’s mature subject matter. Maher said this is not a show for kids – three of the characters are prostitutes, for instance, and nobody in the play tries to tip-toe around that, “which was very unique in terms of the depiction of them as real people and their life,” Maher said, referring to when the play debuted in 1973. “There are three different ladies – the young one, one a little older and an older one. It’s very open about it.”
You’ll also hear the F-bomb thrown about freely and casually. And while the original play includes a scene of nudity, the Stage Lynx production will not include that bit – after all, this is a school production.
This production will mark the first time Maher has worked with the Stage Lynx, and it will also be the first time he directs a show in Concord, after spending most of his life in drama in New York and on the Seacoast.
The show will feature NHTI students Ashlee Bliss, Moe Deanne Bottari, Quinn Boyce, Connor Forbes, Shane Hilton, Tiffany Johnson, Tucker Mayo, Sarah Nolin, Olivia Oberto, Sophia Prevost, Mikaela Szekely, Keith Warner and alumnus Cory Schofield.
Performances will be Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12, free for NHTI students, and will be available at the door. The show will run about 2 hours and 15 minutes, including two 10-minute intermissions.
For more information, go to NHTI.edu.
