Other Desert Cities to Close PCPA's 51st Season

A comfortable Palm Springs home at the holidays turns into a family battle ground in Other Desert Cities playing in the Marian Theatre September 18 through October 3.

Verbal blows and jabs hit deep, opening old wounds in this family's past that contains a closely guarded secret. Brooke Wyeth is a middle age writer and the liberal daughter of prominent Republican parents who returns home after a six year absence. She throws the Christmastime reunion into turmoil when she announces her plans to publish a tell-all book that dredges up a pivotal and tragic event in the family's history that would surely tarnish their political and social reputations.

This searing comedy-drama by Jon Robin Baitz shows us a family struggling to keep their fragile façade from shattering.

Director Roger DeLaurier said the script is intriguing on a couple of levels, "I like the way the story unfolds as a mystery as we get to know and understand and like the characters. It is a complicated family with dark past secrets which effect their present lives. The other thing I like about the script is that even through long and deeply held assumptions, love and family trump over those powerful secrets." DeLaurier says while there is a "mystery" element to the play that serves to keep the relationships unfolding and deepening, the core is really a family drama with a lot of humor.

The cast includes Melinda Parrett* as Brooke, Jessica Powell* as Polly, Dan Kremer* as Lyman, Kitty Balay* as Silda, and Matt Koenig as Trip. The creative team includes Director Roger DeLaurier, Scenic Designer Tim Hogan, Costume Designer Robin Newell, Lighting Designer Jennifer 'Z' Zornow, Sound Designer Andrew Mark Wilhelm, and Stage Manager Ellen Beltramo.