By Sandi Masori
SAN DIEGO— Other Desert Cities at Cygnet theater is the story of family members grappling with secrets from their past. Writer Brooke Wyeth (Melanie Lora) comes home to Palm Springs after finishing her second book. Only this time her book isn’t a novel, it’s a memoir and it’s focused on the hardest time in her family’s history, when her brother committed suicide after being implicated in an anti-war protest turned deadly.
The book opens up past family trauma and doesn’t paint her politically conservative, socially active parents Polly (Rosina Reynolds) and Lymen Wyeth (Alan Rust) in a very nice light. Add younger brother and TV producer Trip (Geoffrey Ulysses Geissinger), and dependent aunt Silda (Debra Wanger) into the mix and you have a recipe for drama.
Set in the early 2000s at Christmas, everything takes place over just a couple of days. The set is the living room of the family’s Palm Springs home. When you first walk into the theater, you will notice the large Christmas tree on the stage, but as you start to take in the details of the Knick knacks on stage you will also notice the menorah. Sisters Polly and Silda grew up Jewish, though judging by the fact that Polly talks about baking ham and never mentions Hanukkah at all, one gets the idea that she’s adopted her husband’s faith.
There’s some mention of being Jewish in the bickering between the sisters, but otherwise it is not really a big part of the show. The show really delves into the question of when there’s trauma in a family, whose story is it to tell?
Originally on Broadway in 2011, with Stockard Channing playing the role of Polly, the play scored several Tony nominations, and Judith Light won one for her portrayal of Silda.
The set is beautifully designed and makes good use of the space, successfully giving the feeling of an upscale home overlooking the desert. I especially appreciated the lighting effects over the mountains in the background as the sun rises and set.
All of the actors except Geissinger are equity actors, but he holds his own with the more seasoned actors. The cast is tight, and the play moves along efficiently. Though it is a serious drama, there are moments levity and humor that are well played.
The production, directed by Cygnet co-founder Sean Murray, plays through March 2.
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Sandi Masori is a theater and restaurant reviewer for San Diego Jewish World.