The Baltimore Waltz at Hood College's Tatem Arts Center

Playwright Paula Vogel wrote "The Baltimore Waltz" in the late 1980s during the height of the AIDS crisis in response to the loss of her brother to the disease. It is a poignant — and very funny — look into the confusion and guilt that surrounded the early years of the epidemic.

When Anna is diagnosed with ATS (Acquired Toilet Syndrome), which she contracts by sitting on a toilet seat in the elementary school in which she teaches, she and her brother Carl set off on a wacky, sexy adventure across Europe searching for a cure. Is any of it real, or is Anna just trying to deal with the guilt and trauma of another, very real, disease?

This is Ardeo Theatre Company's second major production (after last year’s stunning production of Eugene O’Neill’s Hughie) and is being co-produced by the Humanities Council at Hood College. The production features three of the DMV’s most celebrated actors: Jeremy Myers, Evan Crump, and Ardeo’s co-artistic director, Gillian Shelly. It is directed by Aaron Angello.