BWW Reviews: Family Secrets Revealed in PPT's OTHER DESERT CITIES

By: Jun. 10, 2013
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The prodigal daughter returns home - to Palm Springs, that is - in OTHER DESERT CITIES, Jon Robin Baitz's gripping 2011 drama that examines "the indentured servitude of having a family."

OTHER DESERT CITIES premiered off-Broadway at New York's Lincoln Center Theater in January 2011 before transferring to Broadway that November; the show received five 2012 Tony Award nominations and was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Baitz, perhaps most noted for his hit ABC television series Brothers & Sisters, has penned a true triumph makes for a pitch-perfect ending to Pittsburgh Public Theater's 2012-2013 "Made in America" season.

It is Christmas 2004, and liberal writer Brooke Wyeth has descended upon her parents' home in Palm Springs for the first time in nearly six years. Although Brooke has undergone extensive treatment for depression in recent years, she's now back on her feet with a new and soon-to-be-published manuscript, one that candidly illuminates the suicide of her older brother, Henry. The latter of these details, however, she has - of course - neglected to tell her staunchly Republican parents, two Hollywood actors-turned-politicos who are nothing if not keen to keep their public personas pristine.

Helena Ruoti is the production's standout player as matriarch Polly Wyeth, a forthright woman whose favorite pastimes include spending time at the local country club and wining and dining with none other than one Nancy Reagan. Ms. Ruoti, currently appearing onstage with Pittsburgh Public Theater for 16th time, endows Polly with equal parts consummate perfectionist and sarcastic quipster. As Lyman Wyeth, James DeMarse provides the perfect foil to Ruoti's Polly: compassionate and judicious, the love he holds for his daughter shines through even in the play's tensest moments.

Pilar Witherspoon delivers a fine portrayal of Brooke, forcefully rooting herself in her ideals despite her parents' opposition; at times, however, she seems to be speaking her lines with a loftiness that exceeds their ultimate worth.

The scenes that elicit the greatest audience guffaws are those between Polly and her estranged sister, Silda Grauman, a role for which original cast member Judith Light won a Tony Award in 2012. In her PPT debut, New York theatre veteran Susan Cella delivers a simultaneously hilarious and moving portrayal of a woman who, though recently released from rehab, has far from lost her sparkle - nor her ability to spar with her sister, for that matter.

Michael Schweikardt's set design, strikingly similar to that of the original Broadway production, provides a faultless and beautiful backdrop on which the family drama plays out. It's almost as if you can feel the tension hanging in the empty spaces that separate the couches, the fireplace, and the ever-essential mini-bar.

In a year where OTHER DESERT CITIES has dominated the national regional theatre scene, Rob Ruggiero - who has been at the helm past PPT triumphs Anna in the Tropics, Rabbit Hole, and Ella - has directed Baitz's play with a sharpness that keeps the audience on its toes for a full two hours. Some scenes are substandard for the way in which actors have been placed with their backs toward the audience, but Baitz's striking dialogue is enough to maintain interest as the Wyeth's skeletons are slowly but surely ripped from the closet in which they have been carefully situated for so many years. And when the truth about the Wyeth's best-kept secret finally comes out, you'll certainly want to be there to hear it told.

OTHER DESERT CITIES runs through June 30 at the O'Reilly Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater's home in the heart of Downtown's Cultural District. For tickets call 412.316.1600 or visit ppt.org.



John Patrick Hayden and James DeMarse (Photo credit: Pittsburgh Public Theater)


Pilar Witherspoon and Helena Ruoti (Photo credit: Pittsburgh Public Theater)


Helena Ruoti, Susan Cella, John Patrick Hayden and Pilar Witherspoon (Photo credit: Pittsburgh Public Theater)



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