Deep Dish Theater Company will present a 20th anniversary production of Paula Vogel's acclaimed comedy, "The Baltimore Waltz," Feb. 24 through March 17. Directed by Chip Rodgers, the play continues the company's 11th season at University Mall, in Chapel Hill.

"We're very excited to be presenting this ground-breaking play," says Paul Frellick, artistic director. "It works on so many different levels, with an effervescent theatrical energy and a raw emotional power. Paula Vogel has had such an influence on American theater, and this piece certainly demonstrates why."

A sensation when it opened in 1991, "The Baltimore Waltz" follows a brother and sister (Jesse R. Gephart and Mary Forester) who flee a frightening medical diagnosis by embarking on a fantastical trip across Europe. A third actor (Kit FitzSimons) plays the quirky characters they encounter, including the Little Dutch Boy (at age 50) and Harry Lime, from the classic movie "The Third Man."

Vogel is the Obie Award-winning writer of such celebrated works as "Desdemona, A Play About a Handkerchief" and "How I Learned to Drive," for which she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

Director Chip Rodgers is a Raleigh native currently living in New York City, where he has worked with such theaters as The Wooster Group, St. Ann's Warehouse and The Royal Shakespeare Company.

A founding member of United Broadcasting Theater Company, where he devised Arcane Game at Incubator Arts Project, he is currently developing the sci-fi opera "The Life and Times of Bruno Tallywacker," premiering in 2013 at The Performing Garage. Later this spring in the Triangle, he will direct "Hungry" at Stillwater Theater and assistant-direct "Penelope" at PlayMakers Repertory Company.

Performances begin Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday (matinee) at 2 p.m.

Deep Dish is located in Chapel Hill's University Mall, on Estes Drive and U.S. 15-501.

Tickets are $21 for adults and $19 for seniors regularly, with a $2 discount for Wednesday and Thursday shows. Student tickets for all performances are $14.

Call (919) 968-1515 for reservations and visit www.deepdishtheater.org for information.