Other Desert Cities

Victory must be even sweeter if you have been kicked down and then you not only get up but you fly. Here’s how it came down. Playwright Jon Robin Baitz created the TV series “Brothers and Sisters” then… was summarily fired. So what did he do? He picked himself up by sitting down and writing a Drama Desk Award-winning play “Other Dessert Cities.” This powerful work proves the old adage that “ we are are sick as our secrets.”
It tells the story of Brooke Wyeth a promising young novelist who returns home to celebrate Christmas with her parents, brother and aunt. She is about to publish a memoir which dredges up a wound that this disfunctional family does not want opened.
Nancy E. Carroll plays the recovering alcoholic aunt to perfection.
Karen MacDonald, Christopher Smith, and Anne Gottlieb were seamless in their portrayal of the tightly wound family. Munson Hicks,
was not ready for prime time. His portrayal of the father. was halted and he faltered on some of the lines. I presume that as the run continues his performance will smooth out.
All in all, it is certainly worthwhile going to the South End to catch this SpeakEasy Stage Company’s production of Other Dessert Cities.