Lyman, during a family reunion in “Other Desert Cities,” at the
Drama Group in Chicago Heights.
(Photo provided by the Drama Group)
Joyful anticipation often fades quickly when family members gather for the holidays, expecting past conflicts to have evaporated with the passage of time. Playwright Jon Robin Baitz masterfully taps into the complexities of such turmoil in his 2012 Pulitzer Prize-nominated script, “Other Desert Cities.”
After successful runs both off- and on-Broadway, as well as at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre and the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, “Other Desert Cities” heads to the Drama Group Studio Theater stage, 330 202nd St., Chicago Heights, under the direction of Warren Sampson.
A 2013 Guthrie preview described the production “a searing comedy with banter that dazzles (and) decimates, (making) it one of the most satisfying grown-up plays of the decade.”
The story follows author Brooke Wyeth, who has not been home for six years. When she returns to upscale Palm Springs, California, to spend the holiday season with her parents, brother and an aunt, turmoil erupts. Warm and fuzzy familial ambiance quickly disappears as details of the author’s upcoming memoir surface.
The yet-to-be-released volume reveals a dark and painful chapter in the Wyeth family’s history.
Thus while complex relationships drive the details in the script, the angst that provides the backdrop for the drama is easy, Sampson said.
“Novelist daughter Brooke brings her newest book home to the family for approval (and) chaos ensues,” he said. “It’s the how of getting from A to Z that is so devastatingly moving. If all goes well, audiences will laugh and ponder and cry along the way.”
Sampson, who has directed, acted and curated scripts for the legendary 84-year-old community theater enterprise, referred to himself as “the lucky guy” tapped to sit in the director’s chair for this production.
“This is one of the most literate texts I’ve come across and it addresses some very intriguing issues, all while retaining a very entertaining tone. This is a family you will recognize. Their issues are universal. Relationships are complicated and often caustic, yet filled with humor.”
Brooke (Jeannie Markionni) and her brother, Trup (Jason Nisavic), are adults “but they still remain brother and sister.”
Likewise, the mother, Polly (Deb Brunette) and her sister Silda (Karen Cassin) “behave as sisters have for centuries,” Sampson quipped. Chuck Cairns, always a hit onstage, stars as the Wyeth father, Lyman.
The production opens at 7:30 p.m., June 12. Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. on June 13, 18, 19 and 20; and at 2 p.m. June 14 and 21. Tickets are $20, $19 seniors and $15 for students. Reservations are at 708-755-3444 and online via the website, www.dramagroup.org. Tickets also may be purchased at the door.