As a theater critic, there’s nothing I love more than discovering a talented new theater company who’s come to town with great enthusiasm and an original outlook that can only add to our highly rated, established drama scene. Another thing I love is when a rarely produced classic is chosen by one of our local companies … and then suddenly appears as the hottest show on Broadway. I got to see a Sondheim Merrily We Roll Along revival at Delray Beach Playhouse in the spring of 2024 … while the play was still creating a sensation on the Great White Way. And now find myself amazed and delighted to discover playwright Jon Robin Baitz (a new personal favorite) and his 2011 Broadway hit, OTHER DESERT CITIES, playing at Fort Lauderdale’s Empire Stage … just about a month before the show opens at the Hudson Theatre for its first-ever Broadway revival. Yup! Our South Florida theater community definitely has its finger on the pulse of Broadway and Off-Broadway … making sure those of us who can’t regularly travel north don’t miss out (too much)!
So I’m extremely grateful to one of our newest companies whose mission, like its namesake, is to bridge cultural divides, in general (oh how we need that!), and to celebrate the artistic excellence of both American and British theater, in particular. As Bridge Across The Pond’s British co-founder and artistic director Gary Solomons reflects on why he (with American co-founder and producer Daniel Levine) decided on Jon Robin Baitz’s Pulitzer-finalist hit drama, OTHER DESERT CITIES, as the third offering of their company’s dynamic inaugural season. “This play balances biting wit with deep emotional stakes,” says Solomons. “It tackles political divides, grief, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive – themes that resonate deeply with audiences today.”
Family drama has existed since the dawn of time, and whatever the historic era or generation, the complications inherent in human ties, familial demands and expectations, are eternally relatable – and likely the most popular fodder for dramatic exploration. The best ones feature a keen eye for language, believable human behavior and, hopefully, some humor and original observations that make audiences see the people around them (and maybe themselves) in a new light. Due in part to his personal circumstances and life choices, Other Desert Cities’ playwright Jon Robin Baitz excelled in creating a razor-sharp, darkly funny drama that explores the delicate line between family loyalty and personal truth.
The highly active and successful Hollywood playwright, director, screenwriter, television producer and actor was born to a Jewish family in LA in 1961 but raised in Brazil and South Africa before returning to California and enrolling in Beverly Hills High School. Rather than attend college, he worked in a local bookstore and as an assistant to two LA producers. The young burgeoning playwright credits life experience and the feeling of being a “foreigner” in America (so he became adept at decoding customs and manners, not just language) as the secret sauce to his writing success.
share a rare light moment. Photo by Manny Zaldivar.
The sharp, searing, often disturbingly emotional yet constantly witty dialogue continuously infused with tension-breaking, laugh-out-loud funny bits by the richly drawn family members of Baitz’s Other Desert Cities makes this uniquely unhappy family truly special. Of course, there’s also a hidden secret with far-reaching repercussions that has aspects of a murder mystery whose denouement at the very end hits us like a bomb! And I use that image both literally and figuratively. Only late in the story are we made aware of clues that might have pointed us in the right direction.
The play is also endlessly riveting, and shockingly blunt when it comes to politics of the 2004 George W. Bush-era and the earlier Vietnam protest generation. Its title reflects the point in the California highway where you can turn off toward the wealthy, conservative Republican enclave of Palm Springs, established home of the Wyeth family, or “Other Desert Cities.” All action takes place in the Wyeth’s living room; the time spanning Christmas Eve 2004 – morning and afternoon in Act 1, and later in the evening in Act 2. (This is followed by Scene 2: Several Years Later, so we aren’t kept in suspense – though I will keep you in suspense and not give anything away).
Once again, three-row, stadium-tiered little Empire Stage has done wonders in presenting a full living room with lit-up Christmas tree at one end and full bar backed by family photos at the other. There’s even the glowing front of a tall brick fireplace, a clever addition specifically created to fit the space by scenic designer/technical director Eric Fields, with plush upholstered seating compliments of Habitat for Humanity and props by stage manager and assistant scenic designer Anne Solomons. All complemented by Preston Bircher lighting design.
There’s so much going on among the family members who enter, pace, sit, and lounge that it hardly matters that everything takes place on a single stage set. For all eyes are riveted on the outstanding cast – including two adult children who’ve arrived home to celebrate Christmas with their Jewish-turned-Waspy Palm Springs country club-accepted family. Each actor is fully and uniquely fleshed out by the playwright and expertly directed by Gary Solomons.
Instigating all the drama is daughter Brooke (Ana Marie Calise), a liberal novelist who lives in Eastern Long Island’s Sag Harbor, suffers from severe depression, and after five years of writer’s block (and a year of mental collapse and institutionalization while her mother watched over her) has written her next book. It’s not, however, the anticipated second novel, but rather a tell-all memoir revealing painful family secrets (at least from her point of view). Brooke brings printed copies which she distributes to her mom Polly (Michele Verdi), dad Lyman (Dan Levine), and younger brother Trip (Mark Hernandez). Her aunt, Polly’s sister Silda (Lory Reyes), who they’d just rescued from a drunken relapse after five years of sobriety is now recovering at the house as well. But Silda’s already familiar with Brooke’s manuscript, having been chosen as an early reader who’d also offered additional information based on her take of events.
This fall, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is scheduled to play mom Polly in her Broadway debut; Ed Harris will star as dad Lyman, and Allison Janney was chosen to play Silda. In 2012, Judith Light won a Tony for her role as Silda in the original Broadway production. Still, I wouldn’t trade my front row seat (where every attendee can feel as if they’re in the Wyeth family living room) and the expertise of our local stars for Broadway tickets – even if they weren’t in the nosebleed section!
for Christmas seeking family approval of her shocking, revelatory memoir. Photo
by Manny Zaldivar.
Being up close to witness the emotional toll on Ana Marie Calise’s face was worth any price (though admission runs at the lower end for small theaters). As haunted Brooke, Calise’s eyes often sparkled with tears, crinkled in agony, were agape with horror and longing. Alternately, when she was happy, her eyes and entire face lit up from within. It’s rare to see an actress so completely and believably inhabit so wrenching and emotionally demanding a role.
The other, always on and spotlighted female star was Brooke’s mom Polly, so forcefully enacted by Michele Verdi that you can’t decide whether she’s a long-suffering mother or selfishly self-involved. She challenges Brooke with: “What’s with your generation? It’s all about vegans or meth addicts or both at the same time.” Pushy and domineering, one minute, she’s insistent about her sacrifice for the family, the next … all while being brutally honest about how far she can be pushed. We only get to appreciate her true bravery and strength at the very end. It’s a testament to Verdi’s acting finesse that we never see what’s coming!
Polly’s husband Lyman, a former Hollywood action hero specializing in death scenes, gave up acting (at least in Hollywood) to serve as a high-up politically connected Republican, to the point of becoming GOP Chair. Other than confessing to being “overprotective of his two remaining children,” he deals with the loss of their eldest, Henry, by never mentioning his name. And greets Brooke’s sudden announcement of her upcoming book with: “Despite your abhorrent leftie politics, we are so proud of you.”
wife, Michele Verdi as Polly, at the bar. Photo by Manny Zaldivar.
Company co-founder Dan Levine plays Lyman with total male “let’s keep the drama down to a minimum” veracity. So much so that the few times his forced calm demeanor cracks – and he erupts like a loud volcano of pain and grief – we literally jump in our seats!
Youngest son Trip, perfectly portrayed by Mark Hernandez, tries to act as peacemaker. He was only five when the family experienced the tragic loss of his older teenage brother, and so is least outwardly affected. Though his parents poke fun at his career choice, Trip earns a good living and is proud of having created the hit TV series, “Jury of Your Peers,” where, like Judge Judy and her ilk, the trial features a real, albeit retired, judge and a jury composed of B-list Hollywood stars. Trip looks forward to getting back to work on the program which runs five nights a week, and is completely believable as a hip, LA reality-show producer.
understand.
