Other Desert Cities review
Hudson Theatre, New York Allison Janney and Joe Keery co-star in a powerful drama about a family reunion turned political minefield
TL;DR
- The revival of Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities features stage debuts by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Joe Keery, and Broadway returns by Ed Harris, Allison Janney, and Lily Rabe.
- The play is set in 2004 at the Palm Springs home of the Republican Wyeth family during Christmas, where daughter Brooke plans to publish her memoir.
- Brooke's memoir details her brother's involvement in a domestic terror attack and subsequent suicide, a secret the family has long tried to suppress.
- Performances by Louis-Dreyfus as Polly, Harris as Lyman, and Keery as Trip are particularly praised, with Janney and Rabe also delivering strong performances.
- The play's themes of family secrets, political disillusionment, and the intersection of culture and politics resonate with contemporary issues, showing "calamitous prescience."