Arizona Theatre Company to Present OTHER DESERT CITIES, 2/13-3/2

Arizona Theatre Company presents the Arizona premiere of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Drama finalist and Broadway hit Other Desert Cities, a story of family relationships and deep, dark secrets meant to stay buried, at the Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe, from Feb. 13 through March 2.

Other Desert Cities tells the story of the Wyeths, a seemingly perfect upper middle class family with wealth, political influence and A-list connections living the dream in Palm Springs until daughter Brooke comes home for the holidays after a six-year absence.

Her gift to the family - father, Lyman; mother, Polly; brother, Trip and Aunt Slida- is news of the impending publication of her tell-all memoir that includes a pivotal and tragic event in the family's history. It's a wound they'd rather not reopen.

Directed by American writer, playwright and director James Still, Other Desert Cities is a multi-award winning play by Jon Robin Baitz. Ben Brantley described the play in The New York Times as "the best new play on Broadway" and The Hollywood Reporter said it fine tuned the balance between "comedy and intense family drama ... in richly satisfying ways."

Other Desert Cities played to sold-out houses and was named Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play by the Outer Critics Circle during its limited engagement at Lincoln Center in 2012. It then moved to Broadway for a long run, earning five Tony Award nominations and won the Drama League award for Distinguished Play. The Production Underwriter for Other Desert Cities is Shirley Estes. ATC season sponsors are I. Michael and Beth Kasser.

Other Desert Cities stars a cast of outstanding actors including stage, screen and film actor Lawrence Pressman (Criminal Minds, Doogie Howser, MD, Mad Men), Paige Lindsey White (Shameless, Days of Our Lives) and Anne Allgood (Broadway: Carousel, Beauty and the Beast, Sound of Music). Also performing are Utah Shakespeare Festival veteran Will Mobley and stage and screen actor Robin Moseley.

"From its opening scene through to the riveting climax, Other Desert Cities is a powerful, funny and ultimately transformative play," said David Ira Goldstein, ATC's artistic director. "It is in the tradition of American family plays, but playwright Jon Robin Baitz has a voice and a message that is particularly pertinent to our divided and polarized times. As the Wyeth's wrestle with their differences and their family ties, we are gripped and entertained, but ultimately I think we are deeply moved by its outcome."

Other Desert Cities is a co-production with Indiana Repertory Theatre where it will play from March 12 to April 5 following the ATC run.

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