Nothing Says Holiday Cheer Like A Family Feud

Alright. I feel like this happened last year at the Pittsburgh Public Theater as well. A booming season with so of the most inspired works I've ever seen and then a let down with the last show. I feel bad saying this, because Good People, 1776 and Clybourne Park were SO GOOD, but I'm kind of ambivalent about Other Desert Cities, which is going on now until June 30th. But, as always, make your own decisions about whether or not you want to go, and once there, make your own review of it. This is the kind of show that will resonate deeply with some people but will totally flop with others. And I'm that weirdo in the middle.

Other Desert Cities at the Public Theater until June 30

Other Desert Cities takes place during "the most wonderful time of the year" in the home of Lyman (James DeMarse) and Polly Wyeth (Helena Ruoti) in Palm Springs. Lyman a former actor-politician and Polly are high in their class ranking, rubbing elbows with the Reagan's is one of their favorite hobbies, along with playing tennis at the country club and attending and hosting various fundraiser benefits. All fine and well, except for the deep secrets of this family including Polly's alcoholic sister, Silda (Susan Cella), their adult children, Trip (John Patrick Hayden), a reality TV producer, and Brooke (Pilar Witherspoon), a New York author, and the death of their eldest son, Henry.

While Lyman and Polly are strong Republicans, relying on traditions and expected manners, Silda and Brooke are the "crazy liberal type" meaning that they have a different opinion then Lyman and Polly on just about everything, while Trip tries his best to maintain a sense neutral. The family is brought together, for no other reason than to celebrate the holidays, and fret about what Brooke's new book is about. Brooke has been battling depression for the last few years after the death of Henry, even staying for extended periods of time in the hospital, has finally come out with a long awaited second novel. Only, it's not until now that the family finds out the book is not actually a novel, but a memoir, detailing the truth, as Brooke remembers, of all the family secrets, specifically, Henry's death.

The audience easily finds out that the villains in Brooke's story are her parents, the hero is her big brother, Henry and Trip, who was just a little kid at the time, cannot pick a side considering he doesn't know what happened back then. This plot is thick and rich, it's got juicy inside family secrets and details and it really does leave you hanging until the end with what really happened during the that time and how the family sorts it all out. My problem with the show, is that I feel it's over acted. Everyone in this cast is clearly talented and they know what kind of directions their characters would take in certain situations, but the over emphasis of minor lines and then of course the way over dramatic display of emotion is just too much for me. I understand the need to be big on stage, but yes, there is a such thing as too big. And in this particular production, a couple characters are just too big, which makes me not like them or connect to them and in the end made me only care for the character of Trip. Because he was neutral in the fights, had some fantastic one-liners and reminded me of one of my guy friends who always seems to have the best grasp of any situation.

The set design, as always, was amazing!

I'll admit that at one point during the first act, I thought 'am I really going to sit through the rest of this' because I just couldn't stand the inappropriate emphasis of characters and the annoying accent of another, but I knew if I walked out I wouldn't be giving the play the chance it deserved and it would just be plain rude, so I sat through to the end, and I will be the first to say, I did not see the ending coming the way it did. The writing of this show was planned out much better than I gave it credit for (shout out to Jon Robin Baitz) and I have to say that the final scene truly makes up for anything I didn't like. When you see it for yourself, I'm sure you'll understand what I mean.

Race "Issues" Take Center Stage in Clybourne Park

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Issues surrounding race are typically slumped into a list of "things not to talk about" in most circles. Also on that list tend to be religion and politics, and other subjects that might make you uneasy around people who you do not know too well, or who you know have the opposite opinion than you about the "issue." Well. I think that great phenomenal theater is the kind that just puts it out there. And that is exactly what Clybourne Park, going on now through May 19th at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, is doing.

Clybourne Park, which was written by Bruce Norris, is the 2012 Tony Award winner for Best Play and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. If you see it, which I am highly encouraging you to do so, you will instantly understand why it has claimed these two prestigious awards, as well as various others. Clybourne Park takes place in one house in a suburb of Chicago, Act 1 is set in 1959 and Act 2 in 2009. This show could be put on a total black stage and be flawless, but of course that's not the Public's style and the interior of the house fills the stage and is pretty elaborate. Every actor/actress is perfect for their roles (you'll see, they play multiple parts) and during intermission, the music playing guides you through the decades, which I think is a clever touch, especially since Michael Jackson plays during that time.

Act I, when Karl is trying to prove a point (or twenty) to Russ and Bev. Photos from Post-Gazette.

Let's get right into this. The first Act is centered around a middle-aged couple, suffering the loss of their son, preparing to move out of the house on the 100% white, nose-in-the-air, Clybourne Street. This couple, Russ (Brad Bellamy) and Bev (Lynne Wintersteller), have two very different views on how to deal with the death of their only child, Kenneth (Jared McGuire). As you learn more about Kenneth's death, you see the guts of Clybourne Street, the seemingly happy and perfect neighborhood, actually houses a lot of betrayal and judgement. And as Bev and Russ get closer and closer to moving, their neighborhood makes it easier for them to leave without any qualms. Although Karl (Tim McGeever), Jim (Jared McGuire), and Betsy (Megan Hill), all mean well, they make the transition easy by indirectly insulting Russ and Bev about their son's death, the way they are mourning, and the family they sold the house to. Mostly, the family they sold the house to, because that family is black and as Karl so eloquently puts it, "they'll bring down the property values of the neighborhood and it's just one house at a time from there." Obviously these statements upset Bev and begin a huge fight between her and Russ against Karl, all while their maid, Francine (Chandra Thomas) and her husband, Albert (Bjorn DuPaty) are basically forced to sit there silently as their race is discriminated by Karl and not so gracefully saved by Bev.

Act 2 picks up in the house fifty years later. Where Steve (Tim McGeever) and Lindsey (Megan Hill) are trying to get their renovation plans approved by the neighborhood's planning committee. These two new comers tip-toe around issues, trying to make friends with everyone. While Tom (Jared McGuire) tries, unsuccessfully, to run the meeting and Lena (Chandra Thomas), Kevin (Bjorn DuPaty), and Kathy (Lynne Wintersteller) all recount their memories of the neighborhood "back in the day" and their memories within and around that very house. Again, race becomes an issue because of those memories, Steve's inability to be a rational human being, Lindsey's obvious tip-toeing and Lena's will to pick a fight. Basically, everyone has something to prove and defend about their own race, gender, beliefs and sexual orientation and everyone offends everyone else at some point.

The whole cast in Act II, right after contractor, Dan (Brad Bellamy) finds an old Army trunk in the backyard.

Although I just made this show sound like the most serious business of all, trust me, I laughed the entire time. Bruce Norris has created the piece needed in every life in today's culture. It is presented in a serious context, has multiple undertones that develop a passionate piece, but it is the humor that gives this show life. Clybourne Park is a must see on any stage, but it just happens to be on the Public's stage right now. It brings to light the issues of differences, mostly race related, and how we think those differences change our surroundings for the good or the bad. Thank you, Public Theater, for bringing these issues to center stage. Thank you, Bruce Norris, for having the guts to even write this.

To me, race is only a big thing, because we make it out to be this huge barrier between us. I'm also in a long-term biracial relationship and living with roommates from different countries, so I might be biased in saying that race is not a big deal. And at this present time, I feel like only MJ and Bruce Norris understand my humor around this "issue" because they share it. Everyone always looks at MJ and I awkwardly when we blantantly point out and joke about the ridiculousness in separating us by race. This is also coming from a man who hates being called African-American and would rather you call him black because he "ain't never been to Africa."

I love him. I love this show. And I'd love you if you went to go see it and thought that it was more than just thought provoking. I'd love you the most if you're a white girl and you belly laugh the loudest in the theater, during the show, when the joke about "what's similar about white girls and tampons" comes up....you know, like I did. Not because you think it's particularly funny but because you know it's true for about 70% of the white women you know. This show is crude. This show is relevant. This show is needed. It is a necessity for today's stuck up society. We are not different races, we are one. Human. The quicker we learn that, the better. Maybe Clybourne Park can help us do so just a bit little quicker and help use to laugh about it along the way.