OTHER DESERT CITIES by Jon Robin Baitz is Coming to City Theatre Austin

Continuing the 20th Anniversary Season, City Theatre Austin will present Other Desert Cities. Family saga and secrets are laid bare in the award-winning play written by Pulitzer Prize finalist, playwright, and screenwriter Jon Robin Baitz. The production runs November 7 – 23.

“Honey, news flash. You’re not a Texan, you’re a Jew!” – Silda

After a six-year absence, Brooke Wyeth returns to her family’s upscale Palm Springs home and Reaganesque life to celebrate the holidays. She brings with her more than just tidings of good cheer. Armed with a tell-all memoir that resurrects a tragic event in the family’s past, Brooke draws a line in the sand, daring her parents, brother, and aunt to cross it and confront their buried secrets. As the family unravels in the face of this explosive revelation, tensions soar and loyalties are tested. With biting wit and razor-sharp storytelling, Jon Robin Baitz’s award-winning drama promises a riveting exploration of family loyalty and love that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

“On your last day on earth, you will be frightened, and the only thing that will matter is how you loved.”
― Jon Robin Baitz, Other Desert Cities

Jon Robin Baitz has been called “American theater’s most fascinating playwright of conscience.” His plays include My Beautiful Goddamn City, Ten Unknowns, The Paris Letter, A Fair Country, and The Substance of Fire. His television credits include The West Wing, Alias, and Brothers & Sisters, which he created. In 2012, Other Desert Cities received five Tony Award nominations, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Play.

The production is directed by guest director Tracy Arnold. This marks Tracy’s eighth show to direct for City Theatre, with past credits including Escaped Alone, Calendar Girls, Reckless, Christmas Belles, All My Sons, Bus Stop, and The Graduate.

The cast features Maureen Klein Slabaugh, Tim Blackwood, Ashley Hufford, Payton Trahan, and Anne Hulsman.

Beginning its 20th Season, City Theatre is an Austin-based, not-for-profit arts organization sponsored in part by the Austin Creative Alliance and the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin. Founded in 2006, the company has been recognized by the Austin Critics Table Awards, the B. Iden Payne Awards, the Central Texas Excellence in Theatre Awards, BroadwayWorld Austin, and Central Texas Live Theatre, and has twice been voted “Best Theatre Company” by the Austin American-Statesman’s Austin 360. CTC is dedicated to providing a quality, reputable, and diverse public theatre and Stage Entertainment experience that is accessible to all artists and the entire Austin community. CTC continues to offer its student and group discount ticket program for any show.