“We should talk more about the good things that come from Baltimore.”
Moses Ingram, one of the stars of “Lady in the Lake” — and a proud Baltimore native — is adamant that the Apple TV+ series set and filmed here is a sign of the city’s success. “There are a lot of great things and great people who work really hard to make this city as beautiful as it is, this upstart city that is growing more and more each year,” she said.
The show, an adaptation of former Baltimore Sun reporter Laura Lippman’s bestselling 2019 novel, follows Maddie Schwartz (Natalie Portman), a Jewish housewife in 1960s Baltimore, who becomes consumed by the disappearance and murder of 11-year-old Tessie Durst. This tragedy propels Maddie on a collision course with Cleo Johnson (Moses Ingram), a strong and resilient Black woman striving to carve out her own path in a society stacked against her.
In a video interview, Portman and Ingram described the more than three months filming around Baltimore as a very “community-centered” experience that brought people from all walks of life together.
The cast and crew were “so lucky to have the people of Baltimore privy to the project,” Portman said of the show, which created 1,132 jobs in Maryland during production. “There was so much warmth and energy and talent that we were able to experience.”
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Ingram remarked that even as a seasoned actor, filming in Charm City felt different.
“I’ve shot in L.A. a couple of times and it’s regular so people don’t really care if it’s happening, whereas in Baltimore, it’s out of the ordinary,” she said. “People came out onto the porches and recorded on their phones. It’s something exciting for the people and kids, too.”
A graduate of Baltimore School for the Arts, Ingram is especially aware of how working here can inspire Maryland’s filmmakers of the future — jobs that may have seemed unattainable now seem like a realistic career prospect.
“There are so many jobs that exist within the film industry that a lot of people know nothing about or the options of things you can do,” she said. “So to see a kid play with a marker [clapperboard], which will be a new core memory, is beautiful.”
Producers of the show were drawn to Ingram for the role of Cleo because of her poignant performances and versatility apparent in shows like “The Queen’s Gambit” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” And, of course, there was the added layer of authenticity she brought to the performance because she was born and raised here.
Portman, born in Jerusalem, also has a strong Baltimore connection: When her family left Eastern Europe in the 1800s, they immigrated here.
The Hollywood icon had a vague awareness of these roots prior to taking on “Lady in the Lake.” But it wasn’t until she was preparing for the show and at the same time researching a family tree for her mother’s birthday that she realized the extent of the history through census records and immigration papers.
“It was wild to explore that part of my family’s history, which I didn’t really know about until I looked into it,” Portman said. “Walking into the Jewish deli that had been open for 100 years and thinking my great-grandma was in there buying her meat was really moving.”
The Academy Award-winning actress, who has been one of the biggest names in Hollywood for over 25 years, with memorable performances in films such as “Black Swan,” “The Phantom Menace” and “V for Vendetta,” was a surprise coup for director Alma Har’el. Portman had never done a full TV series before, but the actress was captivated by the gripping story, layered characters and especially the rich dialogue.
“I was really amazed by the specificity of voice,” Portman said. “Each character has their own way of speaking and it was so unusual and interesting and not like anything I had seen before. It was gripping right away.”
Despite “Lady in the Lake” being a work of fiction, Lippman took inspiration for her novel from two unrelated murders in Baltimore that received very different responses from the public.
On Sept. 29, 1969, an 11-year-old Jewish girl named Esther Lebowitz disappeared in the city shortly after paying a visit to a local tropical fish store. Her body was found just a few days later, and the killer convicted. The city was outraged by the event and her death received widespread media attention.
Yet two months prior, when the body of 35-year-old Shirley Parker, a Black woman who had disappeared five weeks earlier, was discovered in the fountain in the middle of Druid Park Lake, there was very little media coverage or help from the general public. Her killer was never identified.
Ingram was very aware of the fact that Cleo Johnson was not Shirley Parker and approached the project with “truth” and “respect” at the core of her performance. However, it did give her the opportunity to give a voice to a Black woman who was dehumanized after her death as she was simply known as “the lady in the fountain.”
An adherence to authenticity is apparent throughout the show, with a special eye on aesthetics seen in the stunning recreation of jazz bars on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The avenue was once a bustling epicenter of African American culture and particularly famous for its association with jazz, with the likes of Nat King Cole, Billie Holliday, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington performing there in its heyday.
To ensure their depiction of the clubs was as authentic as possible, the directors hired a trio of jazz historians to ensure the vibrancy and magic was captured on-screen.
“Our design was so beautiful, the first day I stepped in you could feel what it would be,” Ingram said. “The energy is really palpable. The bands were really up there playing and people were in there dancing. It lends itself to the experience.”
To see the clubs and other Baltimore scenes for yourself, check out the first two episodes of “Lady in the Lake” on Friday, followed by new episodes airing weekly.
Adam Davidson is an arts and entertainment freelance journalist.
