(CINNAMINSON, NJ) -- Burlington County Footlighters continues its 2022-23 season with the fiercely funny but dark family drama, Other Desert Cities. The Jon Robin Baitz penned play was a Pulitzer finalist in 2012. BCF Artistic Director Alan Krier directs the production which runs November 4 through November 19.
Brook Wyeth, a budding novelist, returns home for Christmas to visit her conservative California family after six years living on the east coast. When she announces the book that she is about to publish is actually a memoir exploring a dark and tragic event in the family’s history, the holiday reunion quickly loses its yuletide cheer.
Baitz, who has also written for TV (Brothers & Sisters, The West Wing) “wondered about the hubris in the act of writing about people who are actually living, and I thought so many people do this and so few people get to respond to it really,” he explained in an interview. “There are so many great memoirs and they’re also absolutely unreliable in the fundamental sense. It came from my sense of trying to either expiate or make sense of my life as a writer up until now and the potential damage that I’ve been party to or done.”
PHOTO: Sara Stepnowski and Alec Thomas Robin during rehearsals
Other Desert Cities is a true family affair that contains elements with which every audience member should be able to relate on some level. Sara Stepnowski who plays Brooke, is making her BCF debut. The PA based actress has performed mostly in comedies. When asked what drew her to this role she said, “performing comedy is a lot of fun, and the laughter of the audience is immediately gratifying and validating. But, as an actor, I also crave the complexity and emotion that comes with doing a drama.” She went on to say, “The play is set in 2004 and examines the dynamics of one family in particular but the issues and themes that arise are timeless and practically universal. I think that almost everyone can relate to the joys and challenges of being in a family. Other Desert Cities is a profound play and I hope our audiences will come away from the show feeling moved and maybe even a little bit changed as a human.”
The cast includes BCF veteran Val Brothers as Polly Wyeth, and Tom DiNardo as Lyman Wyeth, returning to the BCF stage for the first time since 2006 when he played Joe Keller in All My Sons. Rounding out the cast are Alec Thomas Robin as Trip Wyeth, and Lisa Croce as Polly’s sister Silda.
Performances take place November 4 – November 19, 2022 with shows on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. All tickets are general admission for $20.
Burlington County Footlighters has a small theatre located at 808 Pomona Road in Cinnaminson, New Jersey. For directions, click here.
Burlington County Footlighters seeks to encourage the appreciation of theatre and other cultural programming through public presentations of these artistic endeavors; to allow non-professionals a place to explore their creativity; to provide education in the arts for young people in the region; and to engage with our community through outreach and activities designed to further these goals.
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