"Other Desert Cities"

Good theater is about synthesis. When the audience watches the skilled ensemble cast in "Other Desert Cities" by Jon Robin Baitz, it sees the best of the theater coming together.

The coziness of the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center invites the audience into the stylish Southwestern-themed living room (scenery by John Lee Beatty.) Despite the fire that’s lit at the end of the first act, there’s a definite chill. A Jewish couple, Polly (played by the marvelous Stockard Channing), and Lyman (the distinguished Stacy Keach) have moved to the desert. Their two remaining adult children, Brooke and Trip, have come to spend Christmas with them. As their children, Thomas Sadoski and Elizabeth Marvel, hold their own against the more senior cast members.

It doesn't take long before natural patterns emerge. It is a familiar familial scene when Trip banters with his big sister. The show feels natural when Brooke rails away at her parents, although this Christmas is different. Brooke, a writer, has brought her memoir, the one in which she tells the story of her older brother Henry. After becoming alienated from his parents and their politics, Henry got involved with a cult that later was responsible for bombing a recruiting office and killing someone. Henry disappears leaving a suicide note and the family is never the same. Brooke is afraid of showing her parents the manuscript that has already been accepted by a publisher.

Polly and Lyman are staunchly conservative with powerful political connections. Lyman is strongly reminiscent of Ronald Reagan, having started out in movie westerns and then going into politics. Elegant and icy, Polly, under the tutelage of her "friend" Nancy, has moved away from her liberal sister, Silda (Linda Lavin). Their clothing suggests it all; Silda is casually thrown together, wearing a Pucci knockoff from Loehman's, while Polly is pristine in white.

Baitz subtly offers political commentary as well as insight into entertainment and the arts. Trip is involved in television with a show featuring a retired judge adjudicating real cases decided upon by a celebrity jury.  (Although the older couple are Reagan-ites, the tone of the play was liberal and I wonder if the political overtones caused the gal sitting next to me to leave at intermission.) However, first and foremost, this is a play about family wracked by tragedy.

Other Desert Cities is a beautifully crafted play. It is brilliantly directed by Joe Mantello (Wicked), with a superb ensemble cast. As with many Lincoln center offerings, this a limited run. The good news is that critical and audience acclaim will bring it to Broadway. The bad news is that, unfortunately, there’s no house available until Fall 2011. So you may have to wait, but when it re-opens, it’s well worth a trip to Other Desert Cities.