Jon Robin Baitz’s new family drama “Other Desert Cities” opened November 3 at Broadway’s Booth Theatre. Directed by Joe Montello, the limited engagement play only runs through January 8, 2012.
“Other Desert Cities” chronicles the Christmas Eve homecoming of depressive novelist Brooke Wyeth. Upon arriving at their Palm Springs compound, Brooke informs her affluent, politically influential and fiercely private family that she is publishing a memoir that probes into her older brother’s death.
Rachel Griffiths stars as Brooke, alongside Stockard Channing as mother Polly, Stacy Keach as father Lyman, and Thomas Sadoski as younger brother Trip. Judith Light also appears as Polly’s alcoholic sister, Silda Grauman.
The play is a transfer from Lincoln Center Theater, where it played to sold-out houses in early 2011. Previews began October 12 at the 761-seat Booth. Since then, the show has similarly played to near-capacity audiences each week and grossed $1,212,145 thus far.
Regular tickets range in price from $61.50 to $126.50, which includes a $1.50 facility fee.
“Other Desert Cities” runs two hours, not including a 15-minute intermission. Evening curtains are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, and 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Matinee performances are also staged at 2 p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Booth Theatre is located at 222 West 45th Street in New York, NY. More details are available on Lincoln Center Theater’s official Web site.
Opening Night: “Other Desert Cities”
| Publication | Critic | Review |
| Variety | Marilyn Stasio | “With the magnetic Rachel Griffiths now taking the lead…it’s easier to overlook the artifices of the plot and surrender to the drama.” |
| New York Times | Ben Brantley | “…stronger, more sincere and more credible in its Broadway reincarnation…” |
| Hollywood Reporter | David Rooney | “Under Mantello’s firm hand, the actors never strike a false note.” |
| TheaterMania | Dan Bacalzo | “Rachel Griffiths…makes an auspicious Broadway debut.” |
| New York Daily News | Joe Dziemianowicz | “This astutely drawn and deliciously performed play is as juicy and surprising as ever.” |
| New York Magazine | Scott Brown | “Power, passion, and superbly crafted palaver stippled with blowdarts of wit — this is what Baitz does best.” |
