OTHER DESERT CITIES to Open at Merely Players Presents in Atlanta

Merely Players Presents begins performances of Jon Robin Baitz' Broadway hit, 'Other Desert Cities' next month. Thr production will run November 6-22, in Downtown Doraville.

'Other Desert Cities' follows Brooke Wyeth as she returns home after a six-year absence (and a stay in a mental hospital) to celebrate Christmas with her well-connected, deeply-conservative family. She carries with her a memoir that threatens to expose a painful chapter from their family's shared past. What begins as a seemingly festive reunion quickly unravels into a tense and deeply personal confrontation about memory, grief, politics, loyalty, and truth.

Set in Palm Springs in 2004-well after the Twin Towers have fallen and President George W. Bush has declared war in Iraq-"Other Desert Cities' offers a thought-provoking look at family dynamics, political differences, religious identities, and the secrets we keep.

'Other Desert Cities' marks the first play of Merely Players Presents' 2026-27 theater season, selected by its Founder and Producing Artistic Director, Joanie McElroy.

McElroy states, 'We kick off our new season with Jon Robin Baitz' 'Other Desert Cities,' a Broadway revival that focuses on one particular family-the Wyeth's-navigating the holidays in the midst of political differences, mental illness, addiction, and a tragedy that none can seem to move past. It's basically a story about the power of familial love, reconciliation and healing.'

'Other Desert Cities' is directed by Kevin Dew, who also directed 'Good People' at Merely Players Presents in 2024.

Dew explains, 'I first read 'Other Desert Cities' in 2013 while sailing down the Danube on a river cruise and was struck by how funny, nuanced, heartbreaking, and loving it was. Since then, I have probably read it another 100 times, but I still cannot get through it without laughing and crying.'

He continues, 'I directed a student version of 'Other Desert Cities' at Oglethorpe University in 2018, and I was delighted to recreate it for Merely Players Presents, this time with an age-appropriate cast.'

McElroy adds, 'Kevin Dew has been wanting to direct 'Other Desert Cities' for us for over two years, and now it is finally time to bring this family drama to our stage just as the revival is taking Broadway by storm.'

Dew states, ''Other Desert Cities' will be playing on Broadway at the same time it is playing at Merely Players Presents. You can either pay $1,200 (I kid you not) to see it in New York or $25 ($20 for students and seniors) to see it in Atlanta.'

'Other Desert Cities' opened at the Hudson Theatre as a Broadway revival on October 18, 2026, with a star-studded cast, consisting of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ed Harris, Allison Janney, Joe Keery and Lily Rabe.

The play originally premiered Off-Broadway in January 2011 and transferred to Broadway in November 2011 with a cast that included Stockard Channing, Stacey Keach, and Judith Light, who won for Best Featured Actress in a Play at the 66th Tony Awards.

The Merely Players Presents cast of 'Other Desert Cities' features Atlanta talents, Rial Ellsworth as patriarch Lyman Wyeth and Lee Knippenberg as his ever-supporting wife, Polly Lyman. Tracey Egan plays Polly's alcoholic sister, Silda, and rounding out the cast are Jillian Walzer as Brooke Wyeth and Ryland Moore as Trip Wyeth.

McElroy concludes, 'We are thrilled to bring back some MPP veterans to our stage-such as Rial Ellsworth, who was last seen as the Stage Manager in 'Our Town,' and Tracey Egan from 'Good People.' We are also excited to have Jillian Walzer back on our stage after a successful commercial career in both New York and Atlanta, and to welcome newcomers, Ryland Moore and Lee Knippenberg.'

'Other Desert Cities' runs November 6-22 at Merely Players Presents, located at 3785 King Avenue in Doraville, Georgia. The theatre sits across the street from the Doraville Marta Station and has free public parking available nearby.