OTHER DESERT CITIES Kicks Off Season 2015 at Santa Paula Theater Center

Santa Paula Theater Center will kick off Season 2015 with OTHER DESERT CITIES by Jon Robin Baitz from February 27 - April 5, 2015 on the SPTC Mainstage. Performances are at 8 pm on Friday and Saturday evenings and 2:30 pm on Sundays. Tickets are $20 for Adults, $18 for Seniors, Students and Military and can be reserved by calling (805) 525-4645 or visiting www.santapaulatheatercenter.org

"Other Desert Cities" tells the story of the fictional Wyeth family - a clan led at the top by a mother and father highly regarded in old Hollywood circles and admired by Republicans for their service to and friendship with Ronald and Nancy Reagan in their heyday. The play explores the dark family secrets that threaten to destroy external and internal perceptions about the life the members lead.

Family drama is well-traversed territory, but Baitz, 51, has laced the story with humor and wit, political commentary (setting it in 2004 after the Iraq War is underway), sharp dialogue and an affecting premise: The grown daughter, Brooke, a writer who has suffered a nervous breakdown, has just written a memoir about her life, her parents and their role in the tragic loss of her brother. But she has not told her parents, Polly and Lyman, of her plans to publish the memoir until the publication date nears while on a Christmas visit back home. Among many other questions raised in the play, Baitz asks whether Brooke has a greater obligation to her family (who saved her during her darkest moments) or to the truth and to her work as a writer.

SPTC's production is under the direction of James Castle Stevens with Gary Richardson as Lighting Designer, Mike Carnahan as Scenic Designer, James Castle Stevens as Sound Designer and Barbara Pedziwiatr as Costume Designer. Gail Heck is Props Mistress, Leticia Mattson will stage manage with Leslie Nichols as producer. Featured in the cast will be Sindy McKay, Michael Perl, Ronald Rezac, Kathleen Silverman, and Jessi May Stevenson.

For more information visit www.santapaulatheatercenter.org.

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