Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz (review)
2012; Volume: 36; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/grp.2012.0030
ISSN1573-3386
Autores Tópico(s)Law, Rights, and Freedoms
ResumoGROUP, Vol. 36,No.2,Summer 2012 Theater Review Other Desert Cities. By JonRobin Baitz. Reviewed by Bernard Frankel1 Thisplay, originally presented byLincolnCenter Theater, wasso quickly soldout thatithadtobe movedtoBroadway totheBoothTheater onWest45thStreet to meetdemand. Thecastoffive includes somevery wellknownactors: Polly Wyeth isplayed byStockard Channing, Lyman Wyeth byStacyKeach,BrookeWyeth by Rachel Griffiths, Trip Wyeth byThomas Sadoski, andSildaGrauman byJudith Light. Thesetting isthesumptuous homeoftheWyeths inPalmSprings, California. Toward PalmSprings isa signonthefreeway that indicates "Other DesertCities." Intheplay, Lyman andPollyWyeth, bothretired, areGOP conservatives who havea highpublicranking as Hollywood celebrities andRepublican political appointees . Brooke Wyeth, their daughter, isrecovering from severe depression and a possibleeatingdisorder. TripWyeth, their son,is a successful writer ofreality television series.SildaGrauman is Pollyssister, whousedtobe herpartner in a successful screenwriting team.Sildais nowa burned-out alcoholic, newly sober, wholivesonthedoleoftheWyeths. Themissing Wyeth istheeldestson,reportedlya suicidebydrowning, whohada cultaffiliation, a drugaddiction, anda very radicalpolitical agenda, including terrorist acts. Thefamily has gathered fora Christmas reunionand an announcement by Brookeofhersoon-to-be-published memoir after sixyearsofwriter s blockand ensuing major depression. Lyman andPolly resemble Ronald andNancy Reagan with their unswerving correctness aboutmaintaining public image. Their adultchildren, BrookeandTrip, express moreliberal viewswithlessconcern aboutpreservation ofimage.Thuswehavea conflict inthemaking, theoldversus thenew, thetraditionalversus themodern. Whatmakestheir arguments so intense iscompetition forthemostliterate, acerbic, funny, brittle, andbrilliant lines.Thisis a realtreat 1 Correspondence should beaddressed toBernard Frankel, PhD, ABPP, BCD,LCSW, LFAGPA, POBox 790, East Moriches, NY11940. E-mail: bfbc@optonline.net. ISSN 0362-4021©2012 Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society 169 170 FRANKEL from these verbal pros, whotimetheir remarks with anintimate knowledge ofthe other, a teasing lovedevoidofhurtful intent. Itisworth thepriceofadmission just tohearthesparkling dialogueofthesefive players. Their knowledge ofeachother includes their capacity tobeardifferences without missing a verbal beat. Theplaywrights forte seemstobe dialogue.Silda,a literate alcoholic, whostill graspssomesliver ofself-esteem, functions as a hostile truth teller andsupporter ofthechildren. Shesarcastically exposesPollysaristocratic facade.Sheridicules theeffort tohidetheprivate lietoprotect thepublicimage.Shejoinswith theoppositional arts ofthechildren. However, herAchilles' heelisinherhistory offailing theneedsofthefamily when,inthemidstofemergencies, shewastoodrunk to be ofanyuse. A dramatic moment occursattheendofthefirst act,whenBrooke announces thatinsteadoftheexpectednovel,shehas written a memoiraboutherself and events inthefamily, including herbrother s suicide.Sheis assuredofpublication andwantseveryone inthefamily toreadherfinal draft. Thismemoir willexpose thefamily's neglect ofthebrother justprior tohissuicide, theproverbial skeleton inthecloset. Foryears, Brooke hassensedthat there isa hiddenstory, andshehas suffered mentally andphysically from itsconcealment. Thefamily isnowfacedwithterrible moments oftruth. Brooke wants topublishthetruth for truths sakeandalso,oneimagines, for herownambition. Other motives include revenge aswellasa desire tohealthrough exposure ofsecrets. She blamesandhates herparents for their self-protective veneer. Thememoir threatens topublicly exposewhatsheregards as their collusive failure withherbrother and needtoprotect themselves attheexpenseoftheir children. I do notwanttoexposean evenmorecomplex secret thatemerges attheend oftheplay, butI candiscussthevolatility thisplayprovokes beyondtheplotand theinterplay ofcharacters. One caneasilyimagine theentire playtaking placein a family therapist's office. Initially, there wouldbethepresentation ofsocialselves, andthetherapist, liketheplaysaudience, wouldbe seducedbythewit,seeming self-knowledge, andintelligence ofthefamily members. Thisseduction maysoften thefear abouttheidentified patient, Brooke, andtherisk ofa relapse onherpartas wellas theexploding conflicting subgroups inthefamily system. In theplay,one can imaginethememoiras thefamily therapist in thatits existence, as wellas a reading thattakesplaceinthesecondhalf, is a catalyst for further exposure andchange. Whileslanted byBrookessubjectivity, itistheexistingnarrative ofthefamily history that hastobe modified inthepresent bya true accounting offeelings andfactions. Thememoir, bypresenting aversion ofthepast (Brookesandherauntsversion), brings tolight certain pastevents that thenlead tomodifications ofthenarrative andthepart played byindividual family members. Thisisvery much likea group process inwhich honest contact changes relationships andways inwhich thepastisdescribed. Thememoir becomesa projective toolthat isateveryone's disposalandhasa different effect becauseitiswritten downrather Theater Review: Other Desert Cities 171 thansimply recounted. Committing memories towriting highlights thenarrative andfixes meaning that isthenmodified. Thenarrative ofthememoir hasdifferent meanings toeachofthefive family members. Thememoir asks, "Whoisresponsible?" Thenarrative sinitial answer tothisquestion is,aswith a family, self-protective, full ofdenialandprojection. Eachfamily member hasa different story anda differenttempoofengagement . Ultimately, whentheentire family isengaged, they stop contradicting oneanother, andtogether they co-create a new, morecomplete story. Whilenotawake, theunconscious doesnotsleepandhasthecapacity tosense untruths. Thememoir istheunconscious thatsensesdeception ordistortion and replicates thesensitivity andintuition ofthefamily therapist. Thememoir isa family container holding thetruth. Every member saccount undergoes anevolution from self-protection anddefense toempathie relatedness. Thisinternal process subjugates false-self needsandmakesroomforgenuine acceptance as ina successful family treatment. Thememoir, likethefamily therapist, engageseach memberin extending boundaries ofidentification andinclusion. Whiletheobviousemotional catalyst is Brooke, whoserageandpainhavedonegreat damagetoherself andothers, there isspacefor forgiveness after thenarrative iselaborated andexpanded. Thememoir, as a published document, symbolizes thetherapists skillandcapacity tounify a fragmented family, mobilizeempathie ties,and allowforthefacing ofshameful truths together. Whiletheoriginal intent ofthememoirsauthor, Brooke, wasto determine and exposeguiltand restore innocence, whatemerges is thatfamily responsibility belongs simultaneously toeveryone andnoone...
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