BWW Reviews: OTHER DESERT CITIES at Arena Stage Boasts Strong Performances

Lead by Helen Carey and Larry Bryggman as old guard, Hollywood Republicans, Other Desert Cities at Arena Stage boasts strong performances and clear direction by Kyle Donnelly.

By my estimate, Carey and Bryggman reason enough to venture to the Fichlander Stage. As aging parents desperately trying to keep their family together, they inhabit their characters effortlessly and deliver Jon Robin Baitz's dialogue as if it were their own words.

Baitz's play arrives for its Washington-area premiere with a high pedigree. Other Desert Cities played to sold-out houses at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in 2010 and was named Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play by the Outer Critics Circle. It transferred to Broadway in 2011 and was nominated for five Tony Awards and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for 2012.

As a play, Other Desert Cities is a delicate balance between biting comedy and strife-ridden drama. It works, however, especially in this production due to the strength of Helen Carey (Arena's Long Day's Journey into Night, Broadway's Hedda Gabler) and two-time Daytime Emmy-Award Winner Larry Bryggman ("As the World Turns," and Broadway's revival of Harvey).

Carey is Polly Wyeth, formerly a Hollywood screenwriter, who grew into a doyenne of GOP political circles, due to her husband's career. Polly possesses an acid-tongue (Baitz reserved some of the play's best lines for her) and Carey's portrayal is masterful. Despite her sting, Polly loves her two children and wants what is best for them, as long as the family's name is not dragged through the mud.

Husband Lyman was a B-picture actor who turned to politics and public service, like his old chum Ronald Reagan. A charming negotiator, Lyman's benevolent demeanor is in stark contrast to Polly's iron lady - or so it seems. He is really the change-agent of Other Desert Cities and Bryggman's commanding performance allows the climax of the piece to rise in such a way that grips the audience.

The set-up is simple: Polly and Lyman's daughter Brooke (Emily Donahoe), a liberal writer who lives back east, has finally returned to her Palm Springs home after a long absence. It's Christmas Eve, and the entire family is reunited, including Brooke's brother, television producer Tripp (Scott Drummond), and Polly's sister Silda (Martha Hackett), her former co-writer and a recovering alcoholic.

Lyman and Polly plan a great old family time, especially now that Brooke has spent several years recovering from a debilitating bout with depression. Now back on her feet, Brooke has completed her first book and has come home to share it with the family before it is published.

We see Brooke struggling to want to tell her truth through her book while gaining approval from her stalwart conservative parents.

Ay, there's the rub.

The book is a memoir, recounting a painful time in the Wyeth family; a time that mother and father are reluctant to talk about. You could probably see where this is going, but Baitz has some surprises in store for everyone, including Brooke who discovers her side of the story is not the only one.

As Brooke, Donahoe shows us a daughter who is a stranger in her own house, in many ways. She is the polar opposite of her parents politically and wants nothing to do with their isolated, Palm Springs-country club lifestyle. By the end, Brooke's entire world has shifted on its axis and Donahoe makes the change wholly believable.

In fine support, Scott Drummond fits laid-back Tripp to a "t," and Martha Hackett's Silda maneuvers the shoals of funny drunk, nearly pathetic loser, and concerned family member with ease.

Director Kyle Donnelly allows the play to build along those lines, with the comedy of the early scenes to blossom, even as layer after layer of truth is revealed throughout the two-hour and 20 minute running time.

The Fichlander Stage is transformed into the Wyeth's California desert enclave thanks to a beautifully rendered set design by Kate Edmunds. White carpet, sunken living room, and even an outcropping of canyon rocks help paint the picture of the family's wealth and self-imposed isolation - a critical element of the play.

Other Desert Cities continues through May 26.

Other Desert Cities By Jon Robin Baitz. Directed by Kyle Donnelly

CAST: Larry Bryggman (Lyman Wyeth), Helen Carey (Polly Wyeth), Emily Donahoe (Brooke Wyeth), Scott Drummond (Trip Wyeth), Martha Hackett (Silda Grauman). ARTISTIC: Kate Edmunds, set designer; Nan-Cibula Jenkins, costume designer; Nancy Schertler, lighting designer; David Van Tieghem, original music and sound designer. Two hours, 20 minutes (with 15 minute intermission).

The show runs April 26 - May 26, 2013Fichlander Stage, Arena Stage at the MeadCenter for American Theater: 1101 Sixth Street, SW, Washington, DC. Click HERE for tickets and more information, or call 202-488-3300.

Pictured: Helen Carey as Polly Wyeth, Larry Bryggman as Lyman Wyeth and Emily Donahoe as Brooke Wyeth in Other Desert Cities atArena Stage.Photo Credit: Scott Suchman.

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