These Hollywood stars have been spending time in Baltimore. Here’s where they hang out.

Your eyes likely weren’t playing tricks: That was probably an “Orange Is the New Black” actor enjoying a famous crab cake in Northeast Baltimore, or Emmy-winning writer Lena Waithe exploring the American Visionary Art Museum.

The out-of-town talents bringing “Bocking” to life haven’t just embraced Baltimore Center Stage, where the new play calls home. They’ve immersed themselves in Charm City culture — diets be damned.

“What I appreciate is really the love of food here,” said actor Kalen Allen, who plays a school guidance counselor with a secret. “I’m telling you, I haven’t had one bad meal in this city. I swear to God.”

“Bocking,” the raucous sex comedy about marriage and how we present ourselves to the world, kicked off Center Stage’s new season in August. It’s been a hit, earning roughly $277,000 so far in single-ticket sales — more than $100,000 above the production’s original goal, according to Whitney C. Brown, the theater’s senior director of external affairs.

The production has also brought celebrities to Baltimore for post-show discussions, including La La Anthony, Kandi Burruss and Karrueche Tran.

Due to demand, the play, written by Preston Crowder and directed by Stevie Walker-Webb, was extended an extra week. Final performances are scheduled through Sunday.

Ahead of “Bocking’s” closing weekend, we spoke with members of the cast and creative team about the Baltimore spots they’ll miss most.

Adrienne C. Moore

You won’t find Adrienne C. Moore being driven around much.

Moore, who plays the blunt-talking, jack-of-all-trades teacher Stacey, prefers to hit the pavement, like when she walks her dogs around the Washington Monument area in Mount Vernon or takes a brisk, two-wheel ride toward the Inner Harbor.

“When the weather’s nice, just getting on the scooter, taking it down to Federal Hill and sitting at the top on those benches overlooking the harbor. It’s so beautiful,” said Moore, who portrayed Cindy Hayes on Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.”

Baltimore is becoming more familiar to Moore, who had a role in 2025’s “John Wilkes Booth: One Night Only!” at Center Stage. Moore, too, has embraced the food scene here, raving about sushi at Azumi in Harbor East, the “mouth-watering” Yeiboh Kitchen in Old Goucher and Koco’s Pub’s famous crab cakes in Arcadia.

Don’t forget Charles North’s most famous wings, either: “If you know about iBar, then you know that’s a Baltimore local spot to know about. I mean, the wings at iBar were even giving life.”

Kalen Allen

The curtain for “Bocking” is set to rise in 45 minutes, and Kalen Allen has one thing on his mind: food.

Allen, who plays Erickson Lewis, runs down the list of memorable meals in Baltimore: deep-fried turkey wings from Flavr, “probably the best fried rice I’ve ever had” from My Thai Go, and chicken tikka masala from Akbar Restaurant.

Creole Soul Restaurant in R. House, though, “was probably the best meal I done had,” said Allen, who first became a social media star in 2017 thanks to viral food reaction videos.

“I got the catfish and grits, stellar. I don’t even like grits,” the actor said. “Baby, I cleaned that plate.”

Before arriving, Allen said he’d heard murmurs of a cultural renaissance occurring in Baltimore. Today, he’s a believer — which is why he plans to stick around after “Bocking” wraps.

Allen, who said he also loves walking around Patterson Park (“so calm and peaceful”), will soon reveal his plans. But he has numerous reasons to stay, including finding an answer to an age-old Charm City debate: Who serves the best chicken box?

Impressed by Park’s Fried Chicken and Sunny’s Sub, Allen said he needs return visits after getting the inside scoop — regulars know to ask for extra-crispy chicken.

“Everybody says that Sunny’s is their favorite place, right? But nobody told me I was supposed to ask for it to be fried hard,” Allen said. “I’m going to find some time so I can go back.”

Sis Thee Doll

Before arriving in Baltimore, Sis Thee Doll, a self-described “musical theater diva,” associated the city with one thing: “Hairspray.”

“‘Good Morning Baltimore,’ that’s all I knew,” she said. “Then coming here, it’s been very beautiful.”

In “Bocking,” Sis Thee Doll steals scenes as Rita Day, a mother and wife working out issues in her interracial marriage. The comedy, she said, felt like a natural step in her rising career, which includes roles on “American Horror Story: NYC” and “Pose.” She also made history as the first Black transgender woman to lead a national Broadway tour of “Oklahoma!”

Sis said it was easy to fall for “a very open city” like Baltimore, like when she visited Kink Cafe for one of her “Sis TV” social media posts.

“I love the people,” Sis said. “I didn’t realize how diverse and also just how Black queer Baltimore is as well. That’s what I’ve really come to appreciate.”

The food scene helps, too. She shouted out the Duchess, Kong Pocha and Locust Point Steamers for delicious meals. Baltimore, Sis said, was a natural fit for a seafood lover like herself.

“I’ve been eating so many crabs, it’s ridiculous,” she said. “I’m gonna turn into one.”

Lena Waithe

Lena Waithe loved Baltimore so much, the actor and Emmy Award-winning writer waited seemingly no time to return.

After her debut play “trinity” concluded at Center Stage in March, Waithe came back as a presenting producer of “Bocking.”

Downtime comes at a premium for Waithe, creator of the Paramount+ series “The Chi,” which wrapped its eighth and final season in July. But Waithe said in an email that she’s enjoyed visits to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum and the American Visionary Art Museum.

And like her “Bocking” colleagues, she’s stayed well fed.

“My go-to spots are: Mama Koko’s, Dooby’s, Rooted Rotisserie, Crazy John’s and when I was there for ‘trinity,’ [private] chef Dashawn Toppin,” Waithe wrote.

Preston Crowder

Nick’s Fish House has a fan in Preston Crowder, the 32-year-old playwright behind “Bocking.”

Last week, he took Sis Thee Doll to the Baltimore Peninsula restaurant known for its orange crushes and waterfront views. Before that, his visiting mother got to experience the famous patio at Nick’s.

“What I really loved about that place was it was on the water, and you had a beautiful view,” Crowder said. “That really made it for me.”

Crowder has come to deeply appreciate Baltimore — from community-driven arts events to his routine, which includes running and a sauna session at a Merritt Club.

After two months here, Crowder said he’s not eager to say goodbye and return to New York.

“Everyone I can tell, I’m like, ‘Do you have a job for me? Can you keep me here?’” Crowder said. “Baltimore has just been so refreshing and reinvigorating for me. I’m just so grateful that we got to premiere the show here.”