Pioneer Theatre to Present OTHER DESERT CITIES, Now thru 11/9

Pioneer Theatre Company presents the Pulitzer Prize-nominated drama Other Desert Cities tonight, October 25 - November 9, 2013.

Writer Brooke Wyeth, who is returning to her parents' Palm Springs home for the Christmas holidays, must decide what matters more: the tragic memory of her beloved older brother or the feelings of her intensely private and political parents.

Joyce Cohen, Nancy Lemenager, Dennis Parlato, Kate Skinner and Michael Zlabinger make up the all-Equity cast.

Nancy Lemenager plays the part of Brooke Wyeth, a novelist who has written a memoir about life with her famous and politically driven family after the traumatizing death of her older brother. Lemenager's Broadway credits include Velma in Chicago, Brenda in Twyla Tharp and Billy Joel'sMovin' Out and Penny in Never Gonna Dance, plus Kiss Me, Kate, Dream, How to Succeed... and Guys and Dolls. Regionally, she has appeared in the world premiere of What We're Up Against by Theresa Rebeck at The Alley, and productions at such theatres as the Actors Theater of Louisville, Virginia Stage Company, Hartford Stage, and She Loves Me at the Arena Stage, D.C., for which she received a Helen Hayes Award nomination. She has appeared on television in Elementary, Girls, The Good Wife,Nurse Jackie, 30 Rock, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: SVU. This is Lemenager's PTC debut.

Joyce Cohen plays the part of the family's matriarch Polly Wyeth. Cohen has appeared on Broadway in Once a Catholic, and off-Broadway with the Mint Theater Company and Playwrights Horizons. Her regional credits include People's Light & Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Peterborough Players, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Plan-B Theatre and Salt Lake Acting Company. She returns to the PTC stage after numerous appearances, most recently in The Philadelphia Story last season, and previously in Hamlet, Our Town, Arcadia, Othello and A Streetcar Named Desire, to name only a few.

Dennis Parlato plays the role of Lyman Wyeth, the patriarch and former film star turned political figure. Parlato's Broadway credits include Lawrence in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Mr. Robinson in The Graduate, John the Baptist in Salome, Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music, CIA agent Walter Anderson in Chess, and Rooster in Annie. His film credits include Tom DiCillo's Johnny Suede andDelirious, Eddie Muller's Dillinger's Dead, Greg De Felice's Bury the Evidence, Rick, First Born, Starting Out in the Evening and Bride Wars. He has appeared at PTC in 42nd Street, The Vertical Hour, Paint Your Wagon and Touch(ed).

Kate Skinner plays the role of Silda Grauman, Brooke's aunt recently out of rehab who is now living with the Wyeths. Skinner has starred on Broadway in The Graduate and Uncle Vanya, and her off-Broadway credits include productions at the Roundabout, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Playwrights Horizons, as well as two national tours. Regionally, Skinner has played leading roles across the country, most recently Boeing Boeing (NY), Doubt and Agnes of God (Chicago), Honey Brown Eyes(NYC), The Alchemist (DC), Noises Off (Denver), Uncle Vanya (NY) and Rabbit Hole (Cleveland). Her film and TV credits include Unforgettable, Blue Bloods, all versions of Law & Order, Mona Lisa Smile,The Rage, Carrie II and Down the Shore. She last appeared at PTC in the 1990 production of The Comedy of Errors.

Michael Zlabinger plays the part of the peacemaking baby brother, Trip Wyeth. Off-Broadway credits include Desperate Writers, The Tempest and Five Women Wearing the Same Dress. He appeared in the European premiere of The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? at Vienna's English Theatre. Regionally, he has been seen at Florida Studio Theatre, Gulfshore Playhouse, Baltimore Centerstage, Shakespeare Theatre Company, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, and in the world premiere ofSplitting Infinity at Geva, among many others. Television credits include Person of Interest, Guiding Light, ER, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Pacific Blue, and others. He returns to PTC after appearing as Laertes in Hamlet.

Guest artist and former PTC artistic director Charles Morey directs the production. Morey has directed over eighty productions for PTC since 1984, including the world premieres of Touch(ed) andIn, and the first regional productions of LES MISERABLES, The Producers and The Vertical Hour. He is the author of ten plays, including the critically acclaimed Figaro, which premiered off-Broadway at The Pearl Theatre and was named a NY Times "Critic's Pick" last fall. He is also Fellow of the MacDowell Colony.

Scenic design is by guest artist James Wolk. Wolk's New York designs include The President and Her Mistress, Summer of the Swans at TheatreworksUSA, Pagans at the Abingdon Theatre, Boys' Lifeat Lincoln Center and Three Sisters, both directed by William H. Macy. He has been nominated for the Helen Hayes, Barrymore, and American Theatre Wing Awards. His recent PTC design credits includeFind and Sign, In, The Yellow Leaf, The Heiress and Lost in Yonkers.

Susan Branch Towne returns to PTC to design costumes for this production after designing The Tempest, In, Hamlet, Our Town, A Chorus Line, Romeo and Juliet, My Fair Lady, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Chicago and many others. Among her New York credits are Griffelkin for New York City Opera and the off-Broadway productions of Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!, She Loves Me, Fortinbras and Two Gentlemen of Verona. Local audiences may know her work from the Utah Shakespeare Festival, where she designed during the 1996-1999 seasons.

Lighting design is by guest designer Michael Gilliam. Gilliam returns to PTC after designing forThe Odd Couple, Of Mice and Men, Next to Normal, Rent, A Chorus Line and others. His Broadway credits include Brooklyn, Big River and Stand-Up Tragedy. He also designed for the national tours ofBrooklyn, Guys and Dolls and Big River, and has won the Los Angeles Ovation Award, Drama-Logue Award, Garland Award and the 1999 Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.

Hair and makeup design is by PTC resident designer Amanda French; sound design is by PTC resident designer Michael Wescoatt.

The show will run October 25 - November 9, 2013, running Mondays - Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday matinees, 2:00 p.m. in the Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 300 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City. Tickets: $25 - $44 in advance and $5 more when purchased on the day of the show; Kids in grades K - 12 are half price on Mondays and Tuesdays. EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT: $5 off the cost of Main Floor and Loge seating for the first seven performances, when tickets are purchased on or before Oct. 18. Box Office: 801-581-6961 - Open 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Mon - Fri or www.pioneertheatre.org. Contains strong language.

CAST:

Joyce Cohen*.........................................................Polly Wyeth

Nancy Lemenager*.................................................Brooke Wyeth

Dennis Parlato*......................................................Lyman Wyeth

Kate Skinner*.........................................................Silda Grauman

Michael Zlabinger*..................................................Trip Wyeth

* Denotes member of Actors' Equity Association

ARTISTIC TEAM:

Director..................................................................Charles Morey

Scenic Designer......................................................James Wolk

Costume Designer...................................................Susan Branch Towne

Lighting Designer....................................................Michael Gilliam

Sound Designer......................................................Michael Wescoatt

Hair and Makeup Designer.......................................Amanda French

Dramaturg.............................................................Janine Sobeck

Pioneer Theatre Company operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. Pioneer Theatre Company, Utah's only fully professional theatre, performs at Roy W. and Elizabeth E. Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, located on the University of Utah campus at 300 South and 1400 East in Salt Lake City, easily accessible by TRAX light rail. Free parking is also available and the theatre is equipped with an elevator, handicap parking, hearing assistance devices and other easy-access features.

To post a comment, you must register and login.