By Bonnie Gilgallon – April 24th, 2025
Family secrets are like vampires. They never really die, and can always come back to bite you. —Alberta J. McMorris
CVRep’s production of Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities takes an in-depth look at the gnawing pain and dysfunction long-held secrets can create in families—and what can happen when those secrets finally revealed. The play opened on Broadway in 2011, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The story centers around the Wyeth family. It’s Christmas Eve 2004, and retirees Polly and Lyman are hosting a small get-together at their Palm Springs home. Lyman is a former actor who became active in Republican politics. Polly, also a Republican, is a tennis-playing socialite who once wrote a series of comedic movies for MGM back in the 1960s. Her former writing partner is her liberal sister, Silda, a recovering alcoholic who’s now living with the Wyeths. The sisters are estranged due to their polar-opposite political beliefs.
Daughter Brooke Wyeth, a divorcee and successful New York writer, is visiting for the first time in six years. (The play’s title comes from a road sign—one you’ve almost certainly seen yourself—that Brooke passes when coming to visit: One exit leads to Palm Springs, while the other heads to “other desert cities.” Brooke often yearns to take the latter.) Trip, the son and a Los Angeles-based producer of a courtroom reality show, is also on hand.
Brooke has brought along the manuscript of her new book, a memoir detailing the suicide of her older brother, Henry, following a violent incident stemming from his 1970s counterculture activities. Brooke is hoping for her family’s blessing to move forward with the book, but makes it clear she will publish it even if they object. She’s been dealing with depression since the long-ago loss of her brother, even spending six months in a psychiatric hospital, and feels that the book is part of her healing process.
Family visits during the holidays are often fraught with drama, resentment and the rehashing of old hurts, and this play delves into all of that. Throw in political divides, alcoholism, depression, possible new family secrets and a tell-all book, and things can get pretty heavy—though there’s also plenty of humor in Other Desert Cities.
Philip Wm. McKinley’s direction is impeccable. In a play with ample dialogue and not a lot of physical action, pacing is vital; McKinley keeps things moving right along, with his actors tossing off zingers with just the right energy. There is not one moment of silence that is not dramatically appropriate. McKinley elicits top-notch performances from each of his actors.
The cast is very strong. As the patriarch Lyman Wyeth, Bruce Sabath is just right. Nostalgic for his days in front of the camera when he rubbed elbows with the Reagans, Sabath’s Lyman is also busy trying to keep the peace in his family. He loves them all and must referee between his overbearing wife and headstrong daughter, all while agonizing over whether to reveal one last secret.
Lois Robbins is terrific as Polly. From the moment she jauntily enters following a game of tennis, the audience knows she’s in charge. With her stylish tennis skirt and her classic blonde flip, it’s clear she never has a hair out of place. Robbins expertly conveys Polly’s staunchly Republican values, including strength, appearances and following the rules.
In the pivotal role of Brooke, Dawn Cantwell is superb. The never-ending grief over the loss of her older brother comes across as quite genuine; we feel her pain as she’s torn between wanting approval of her book from her family, and the determination to tell her story, no matter what. Brooke is the “truth-teller” in her dysfunctional family—the one who questions the family’s unhealthy dynamics and often becomes the target of blame. Cantwell nails it.
As Brooke’s brother Trip, Luke Wehner is flawless. Laid-back and smoking a joint, Trip just wants to enjoy Christmas with his family, and not get bogged down with all the drama of the past. He provides much of the play’s comic relief and is fun to watch onstage.
Rounding out the cast is Susan J. Jacks, who is a hoot as Aunt Silda. Broke and just out of rehab for alcoholism, Silda’s temporary move into the Wyeth home is proving to be problematic. Jacks has great comic timing and provides some very funny moments.
Jimmy Cuomo’s sets are always stellar, and this one is no exception: It’s a high-end, well-appointed Palm Springs living room, complete with a lovely, classy Christmas tree. The costumes, makeup, lights and sound all work well here.
CVRep’s Other Desert Cities is a very well-acted production that peels back the curtain on a loving, yet dysfunctional family trying to make sense of the past and navigate their way to a positive future—something to which we can all relate. It sparks a debate on whether it’s healthier to keep family secrets hidden, or to bring them out of the dark into the light of day—a question you’ll grapple with long after the final curtain call.
Other Desert Cities will be performed at 7 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday; and 2 p.m., Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, through Sunday, May 4, at the CVRep Playhouse, 68510 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Cathedral City. Tickets are $80 (except for opening night, Thursday, April 24, when tickets are $110), and the running time is just less than 2 1/2 hours, including a 15-minute intermission. For tickets or more information, call 760-296-2966, or visit www.cvrep.org.
