Family Drama Comes to OLT

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS

Other Desert Cities, a family drama from Pulitzer-Prize-nominee Jon Robin Baitz, opens July 8 at Olympia Little Theatre.

Other Desert Cities tells the story of Brooke Wyeth (played by Silva Goetz), whose conservative Hollywood family gathers for a Christmas reunion in Palm Springs with her father (a former Western movie star and staunch GOP politician, portrayed by Jim Patrick) and mother (Toni Murray). Brooke brought the manuscript of her memoir about her older brother, his involvement in a fatal Vietnam-War-era bombing and her view of their parents’ responsibility for his suicide.

Other cast members are Cameron Waters and Bonnie Vandver.

Director Toni Holm said, “I’m a sucker for words. The dialogue is brilliant. The characters are all erudite users of language, but it never gets in the way of clarity or advancing the plot. I admire how the language rings true for anyone who’s ever had a family and interacted with their parents as adults. In the end, though, the conversation may be about politics, but it’s also about family. This presents a challenge to a director. The dialogue alone will keep your attention, but this isn’t a stage reading so we have to find the actions that reflect the changing emotions in the conversation.”

What: Other Desert Cities

Where: Olympia Little Theatre, 1925 Miller Avenue NE

When: 7:55 p.m. Thursday – Saturday and 1:55 p.m. Sunday, July 8–24

How much: $11-$15

Where to buy tickets: (360) 786-9484 / Olympia Little Theater Tickets

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