Overview

Synopsis

In 1986, playwright Paula Vogel’s brother Carl invited her on a trip to Europe. Burdened with professional obligations and lack of financial means, she declined. Sadly, Carl died from complications of AIDS two years later. Having never gotten to take the European trip with her brother, Vogel instead wrote an imagined version in The Baltimore Waltz. Darkly funny and searingly satirical, the play examines AIDS and the government’s response to it using an absurd fictional disease: Acquired Toilet Disease (ATD). In a series of dreamlike comic scenes, travel-phobic schoolteacher Anna ventures out on a European romp with her brother Carl after being diagnosed with ATD. What begins as a surreal sitcom ends with a whiplash snap to realism and a bittersweet revelation that has left critics spellbound. Visceral, multilayered, and metaphorical, the play is one part farce and one part political statement with themes that still ring true more than three decades later.

Show Information

Category
Play
Age Guidance
Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
Number of Acts
1
First Produced
1992
Genres
Drama, Satire, Dark Comedy
Settings
Contemporary, Multiple Settings, Simple/No Set
Time & Place
Various locales in the United States and Europe.
Cast Size
medium
Orchestra Size
None
Dancing
None
Ideal For
College/University, Ensemble Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Small Cast, Diverse Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Early Teen, Late Teen, Young Adult, Mature Adult Characters, Medium Cast

Context

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Plot

Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Anna

Lead

Female

Non-singer

Carl

Lead

Male

Non-singer

The Third Man/Harry Lime

Supporting

Male

Non-singer

Garcon

Featured

Male

Non-singer

The Little Dutch Boy at Age 50

Featured

Male

Non-singer

The Munich Virgin

Featured

Male

Non-singer

Radical Student Activist

Featured

Male

Non-singer

Dr. Todesrocheln

Featured

Male

Non-singer

Ensemble Characters (3)

Featured

Male

Non-singer

Songs

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A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

Key Terms

    Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a medical condition caused by the HIV virus that weakens the immune system. It has had a profound impact on the performing arts community, particularly in the late 20th century, as many artists and organizations have addressed its social and personal effects through theatre.

    A performance technique where an actor speaks directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall for dramatic or comedic effect.

    A comedic dramatic genre featuring exaggerated situations, physical humor, and improbable events.

    A literary device comparing two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as,' used in theatre to add symbolic meaning. Metaphors enhance subtext and deepen character understanding.

    A genre or technique that uses humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize human folly or societal flaws. Satire is common in political and literary theatre.

    A comedic television format that influences theatrical writing styles with episodic structure and ensemble casts.

    A dramatic style focused on dreamlike imagery and illogical scenes to explore the subconscious or challenge realism.

    An incurable disease used in theatre to explore mortality, dignity, and emotional complexity in realist or symbolic narratives.

Videos

Quizzes

Themes, Symbols & Motifs

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Quote Analysis

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Guide Written By:

Kevan Dunkelberg

Kevan Dunkelberg

Oklahoma-based drama teacher, actor and playwright