BWW Reviews: A Strong OTHER DESERT CITIES at the West Coast Players

"Palm Springs isn't a refuge. It's King Tuts' tomb; the whole town is filled with mummies with tans." --A line from Jon Robin Baitz's OTHER DESERT CITIES

There are few things in life better than experiencing newer shows in theatres that I have never had the chance to venture to before now.

The West Coast Players is a top-notched community theatre in Clearwater that has been around since 1994 and has been in their current location since 2008. This is not your run of the mill community theatre that has nothing on their schedule but shows like done-to-death Rodgers & Hammerstein or Lerner & Loewe musicals (not that there's anything wrong with that) or Michael Parker farces that seem like re-treads of Three's Company episodes (there is something wrong with that). This is a community theatre that performs vital, edgy works with some of the best local actors.

OTHER DESERT CITIES has been playing at the WCP since March 6, and all I can say is that this is a hidden gem of a show--a beautifully written, well-acted production. Written by Jon Robin Baitz, who wrote TV's Brothers & Sisters as well as the current The Slap, the play itself was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for drama (Water By the Spoonful eventually won). However, it did win the Outstanding New Off Broadway Award by the Outer Critics Circle, and after its Broadway run, was also nominated for various Tony Awards, winning one, but losing to Clybourne Park in the Best Play category.

Set in 2004 in Palm Springs, California, Baitz's play centers around the quarrelsome Wyeth family, together for the Christmas holidays. The parents are old school Republicans while their children and the children's aunt are leftwing in their outlook. The daughter, Brooke, has written an explosive memoir of her family and especially her dead brother--a radical during the Vietnam war who ultimately took his own life. The book is like an explosive charge--ready to blow up and fracture the Wyeth family forever if it is published.

This is a show that calls for great acting, and the WCP cast certainly delivers. Leading the way is Jacquelyn Flaherty in a lay-it-all-on-the-line, powerhouse performance. This is the kind of performance that people talk about long after the house lights come up--so sad, so harrowing, so wounded, so defiant, and so real. A newcomer to the area (from Chicago), this is Ms. Flaherty's first show with WCP and she is certainly a welcome addition to the local theatre scene.

The immensely likable Stephen Riordan plays Brooke's brother, Trip, and he matches up well with her physically. He's in the middle of the family's emotional tug-of-war, and Riordan hits all the right notes--keeping it light and also keeping it real.

As the aunt, Donna Donnelly steals every scene she's in. I saw her turn as Violet in EOT'S August: Osage County last year, and she's even stronger here. If you want a seminar in how to own the stage, then watch Ms. Donnelly in action as Silda Grauman.

Nonie White is stellar as Polly Wyeth, the Mom from Hell. Yet Ms. White doesn't overplay it; she verbally stabs and parries and makes it all look easy. I like the little touches--like the way she stands and crosses her arms just like her daughter. At times she gives us glimpses into the vulnerability underneath Polly's barracuda façade.

Michael Mahoney is incredibly strong as the patriarch, Lyman Wyeth. Mahoney is naturally theatrical, to use an oxymoron, and it works for this role (Lyman Wyeth used to be a Hollywood actor, so the theatricality suits the character). Mahoney has a big, bombastic voice that booms and causes the walls to shake on occasion. He yells too much for my taste, especially in Act 2, and he doesn't need to with that booming voice--sometimes a whisper can cause even a deeper scar. At one point in Act 2, during a key monologue, Mahoney cheats out to the audience and delivers his words to us as well as the cast onstage. I know this is properly done for the theatre, but I think Mahoney could have raised the stakes here. Perhaps this is the moment that Lyman's theatrical mask comes down and we can finally see the real man for the first time. He doesn't need to be theatrical here. It would be a much stronger choice for this very talented actor.

Linda Weir's direction is taut and spot on. The show is beautifully staged, and I like how the director has the actors move with meaning, not just to make pretty onstage pictures. Her set is well constructed and appropriate. However, I felt the backdrop painting of palm trees did not fit with the rest of the décor. Something more realistic is needed, not painted palm trees that look like something you'd find in a high school art class.

The show had the audience talking afterwards, debating, which is always a good thing. I could have done without the Epilogue. Although gorgeously written, it tied the loose ends together too much for me. I like my theatre messy and real, not pat. Leave it to the audience to find the answers. An Epilogue like this suits television much more than it does live theatre.

I was very happy with my WCP experience. The theatre is wonderfully quaint, seating about 100 people. Speaking of seats, they were the most comfortable I have ever experienced, like watching the show from your favorite family room chair.

There are a handful of top-flight community theatres in the area: EOT, MAD and the Carrollwood Players. Based on this production of OTHER DESERT CITIES, the West Coast Players need to be added near the top of that illustrious list.

OTHER DESERT CITIES ended its run on March 22nd. For tickets to future WCP shows, please call (727) 43-SCENE (437-2363).

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