For immediate release.
CAST CHANGE FOR BAITZ’S “OTHER DESERT CITES” AT MARK TAPER FORUM
Michael Weston Replaces Justin Long And Joins Cast Members
Jeannie Berlin, Robert Foxworth, Robin Weigert and JoBeth Williams
Previews Begin November 28, 2012; Opening December 9; Performances Through January 6, 2013
Michael Weston replaces Justin Long in Center Theatre Group’s production of the Tonynominated “Other Desert Cities” by Jon Robin Baitz. Weston joins the previously announced
Jeannie Berlin, Robert Foxworth, Robin Weigert and JoBeth Williams. Long has bowed out due
to a film commitment. Robert Egan directs the West Coast premiere, which starts previews on
November 28, 2012, opens December 9 and runs through January 6, 2013.
Scene design for “Other Desert Cities” is by Takeshi Kata, costume design by Alex
Jaeger, lighting design by Lap Chi Chu, sound design by Adam Phalen and original music by
Karl Fredrik Lundeberg. Casting is by Erika Sellin. Production stage manager is James T.
McDermott.
“Other Desert Cities” tells the story of a once promising novelist who returns home after
a six year absence to spend the holidays with her parents, her brother and her aunt. When she
announces that she is about to publish a memoir focusing on an explosive chapter in the family’s
history, the reunion is thrown into turmoil.
Ben Brantley of The New York Times said that “Other Desert Cities” is “. . . the most
richly enjoyable new play for grown-ups that New York has known in many a season . . . In his
most fully realized play to date, Mr. Baitz makes sure our sympathies keep shifting among the
members of the wounded family portrayed here. Every one of them emerges as selfish, loving,
cruel, compassionate, irritating, charming and just possibly heroic.” Linda Winer of Newsday
said that the play is “…a smart, juicy, gorgeously written family drama that knows individual
psychology as keenly as it understands the world around it. ...”
Jeannie Berlin (who plays Silda Grauman) recently appeared in the film “Margaret,” for
which she received Best Supporting Actress nods from The New York Times’ A.O. Scott, the
-more-
Cast change for “Other Desert Cities” -2
Village Voice 2011 Critics’ Poll, the N.Y. Film Critics Award and more. She is also known for
the films “Sheila Levine” and “The Heartbreak Kid” (Golden Globe nomination), among others.
She appeared on stage in “Power Plays” opposite Alan Arkin, and in “After the Night and the
Music.”
Robert Foxworth (Lyman Wyeth) recently appeared as Henry Drummond in “Inherit the
Wind,” at The Old Globe in San Diego, where he is an Associate Artist. On Broadway, he has
appeared in “Twelve Angry Men,” “Ivanov,” “Judgment at Nuremberg,” “August: Osage
County,” and more. He has starred and guest-starred in numerous series, including “Six Feet
Under” and “Falcon Crest.” He is the voice of Ratchet in all three of the “Transformers” movies.
Michael Weston (Trip Wyeth) appeared off-Broadway in “Extinction” and “Snakebit,” as
well as in “Dead End,” “Matchmaker” and “Johnny On The Spot,” all at Williamstown Theatre
Festival. In Los Angeles, he was seen in “Waverly Gallery” at the Pasadena Playhouse.
Recently he starred in the A&E mini-series “Coma.” His film credits include “State of Play,”
“Garden State” and “The Last Kiss,” among others, and he has played recurring roles on the
popular series’ “House,” “Six Feet Under” and “Scrubs.”
Robin Weigert (Brooke Wyeth) has appeared on and off-Broadway in numerous
productions, receiving Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel award nominations for her work in
“Madame Melville.” She recently played the eponymous Angel in Tony Kushner’s “Angels in
America” at the Signature Theatre Company in NYC. She is known to TV audiences for the role
of Calamity Jane in “Deadwood” and a recurring role in the FX series “Sons of Anarchy.” Her
film work includes “The Good German,” “Things We Lost in the Fire,” “Fragments,” “My One
and Only,” Charley Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York” and “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee,”
as well as the “The Sessions.”
JoBeth Willams (Polly Wyeth) recently appeared in “Quality of Life” at the Geffen
Playhouse. Notable films include “The Big Chill” and “Poltergeist,” as well as the television
movies “Adam” and “Baby M,” both of which brought her Emmy and Golden Globe
nominations.
CTG has presented five Jon Robin Baitz’s plays including “Dutch Landscape” (world
premiere – 1988-1989 season), “The Substance of Fire” (1992-1993 season), “Three Hotels”
(1994-1995 season) and “Ten Unknowns” directed by Robert Egan (2002-2003 season), all at the
Taper, and the world premiere of “The Paris Letter” (2004-2005 season) at CTG’s Kirk Douglas
-more-
Cast change for “Other Desert Cities” -3
Theatre. His other plays include “The Film Society,” “The End of the Day,” “A Fair Country,”
“Mizlansky/Zilinsky” and a new version of Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” (for Broadway starring Kate
Burton). He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for “A Fair Country” and a Guggenheim, NEA and
American Academy of Arts & Letters Award winner. His screenplays include “The Substance of
Fire” and “People I Know” starring Al Pacino, both for Miramax. He created the ABC-TV
drama “Brothers & Sisters” in 2006, after writing an episode of “The West Wing” (“The Long
Goodbye”).
Robert Egan is the Artistic Director/Producer of the acclaimed Ojai Playwrights
Conference. Prior to Ojai he was the Producing Director of the Taper for 20 seasons, where he
founded and produced 15 seasons of the New Work Festival and directed “Made in Bangkok,”
“Closer,” “Hedda Gabler,” “Arcadia” and Jon Robin Baitz’s “Ten Unknowns,” among many
others. He is also the Founder and President of RHEgan Productions LLC and Eye Street Media
where he has conceived, written, produced and directed major live events and media celebrating
Cure Autism Now, Operation Smile, LA Team Mentoring, Global Green USA and Homeboy
Industries. Egan was recently named the Artistic Director/Producer of Watts Media, one of the
nation’s leading companies in strategizing and creating live events and media for corporations
and non-profits across the country. Other directing and producing credits include major
productions ranging from world premieres to Shakespeare at theatres across the country
including in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and in London and Europe.
“Other Desert Cities” premiered at Lincoln Center Theater in December 2010 and played
at the Booth Theatre on Broadway, October 2011 through June 2012, receiving a total of five
Tony nominations.
Tickets for “Other Desert Cities” are available at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, the
CTG box office located at the Ahmanson Theatre, or by calling (213) 628-2772.
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October 18, 2012