Other Desert Cities Broadway revival features dated themes

Jon Robin Baitz’s play Other Desert Cities has returned to Broadway at the Hudson Theatre 15 years after its premiere, bringing a cast featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ed Harris, Allison Janney, Lily Rabe, and Joe Keery.

Staging the Palm Springs Reunion

Set during Christmas Eve 2004 in a Palm Springs home resembling a midcentury modern set, the story unfolds around the return of mentally fragile daughter Brooke. Carrying a tell-all memoir manuscript, Brooke confronts her parents: Lyman, a movie star turned GOP chair turned ambassador, and Polly, a caustic SoCal retiree who once wrote Gidget-esque movies with her sister before stepping back from a Hollywood she viewed as overrun by drugs and lefties whining. Silda, Polly’s sister and a recently sober former drinker, lives with them following a stint in rehab. Son Trip rounds out the household as the pleasure-oriented cynic who produces a reality television show called Jury of Your Peers. The arrival of the manuscript sparks intense family conflict regarding the fate of the family’s eldest son, Henry, who died by suicide after a troubled youth.

New Cast Brings Different Styles to Revival Roles

The revival features distinct casting choices compared to earlier iterations. As noted by nystagereview.com, Stockard Channing originated the role of Polly in 2011 as a decidedly venomous figure, whereas Louis-Dreyfus brings a screwball buoyancy and a softer, less terrifying edge to the character. Meanwhile, Allison Janney steps into the role of Silda—a part that previously won Judith Light a Tony Award—bringing a hard-edged, dry delivery. Ed Harris portrays Lyman, and Lily Rabe tackles Brooke, a role played with a snotty and infuriating edge, though Rabe seems actively uncomfortable in it.

High Ticket Prices Mask Dated Political Themes

The production suggests that contemporary commercial theater relies too heavily on high-priced tickets to seat audiences near famous actors in material that can feel dated. As detailed by vulture.com, tickets reach up to $800 to experience a play that leans into daytime soap territory while engaging with the politics of the Bush era and old-guard Hollywood conservatism. The narrative builds toward an eleventh-hour revelation that reframes Brooke’s life and trauma in the final minutes of the show, offering a swift resolution to decades of writer’s block and suicidal ideation through a rapid monologue.

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