Directed by Becky Daggett
Sunday and Monday, March 29 and 30
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Please arrive early to fill out audition forms.
Auditioners need only attend one night
Performances May 29 – June 14 (including a performance on Thursday, June 4)
Keep checking back for audition materials!
When Brooke Wyeth returns home to Palm Springs for Christmas in 2004, she is unable to relax into the prickly, yet loving, embrace of her wealthy California family. Brooke has been in continuous rebellion against her conservative parents — father Lyman, a former Republican ambassador, and mother Polly, a brittle perfectionist–for a long time, moving to the East Coast and adopting liberal political beliefs, but she still craves their approval. She is anxious about revealing her publishing plans for her new memoir, about the suicide of her beloved older brother, Henry, who was involved in the anti-war bombing of a draft board during the Vietnam War and brought disgrace to his unforgiving mother and father. Over the course of Christmas Eve, Brooke spars with her parents, reminisces with her charming younger brother Trip, and receives the dubious emotional support of her alcoholic aunt, Silda. When the news of Brooke’s memoir is revealed, Polly and Lyman are faced with a choice — either reveal a shocking secret that they have kept for decades, or risk exposure when the world reads their story. Spanning the international disasters of war, the bitter feuds of American politics, and the intricate and equally bitter dynamics of one family’s love and grief, Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities is a scintillating and sharply observed dark comedy, with themes of depression, addiction, family and memory.
Characters
There’s flexibility with these ages. As these characters are all family, the actors’ ages (or ages they can play) need to make sense.
Brooke Wyeth — 40s, highly educated, politically liberal, depressed.
Polly Wyeth — Mid to late 60s – 70s, intelligent, forthright, politically conservative, dignified, elegant.
Lyman Wyeth — Mid to late 60s – 70s, kind, diplomatic, politically conservative.
Silda Grauman– Mid to late 60s – 70s, alcoholic, funny, bitter, writer, politically liberal.
Trip Wyeth — 30s, actor, producer, funny, peacemaker, bright.
Rehearsals
Begin Monday, April 13 and generally running Mon. through Thurs. each week until the show opens. Will require a couple weekend rehearsals.