Posted: 10/3/26 at 5:17pm
To anyone who has seen the show - how’s Joe Keery? I think he’s a great young actor, and I appreciate that he’s made the leap to the stage. I know it’s not the showiest part, but I’m curious as to early impressions.
Posted: 10/3/26 at 5:17pm
What purpose did your factual observation serve?
I think my judgement on it seemed pretty sound.
Posted: 10/3/26 at 5:32pm
Between School Girls, Paranormal Activity, and now Other Desert Cities, I feel like I’ve been very lucky with the plays so far this season!
This one fires on all cylinders. The five-member all-star cast knocks it out of the park, with Lily Rabe and Joe Keery being the standouts for me. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ed Harris, and Allison Janney all more than hold their own as well.
The play itself is very well written and structured, striking a great balance between humor and intensity. The characters are fascinating and have some really compelling arcs, and I was genuinely on the edge of my seat during the final 15 minutes.
For anyone curious about sight lines, I was in a partial-view balcony seat and still felt like I saw about 95% of the action. I couldn’t see some of the stage-left portion of the set, but the action and blocking are fairly centered, so I didn’t feel like I was missing much.
I can only imagine the cast will continue to strengthen as the run goes on, but for an early preview, this is already in extremely solid shape. Definitely another winner for me this season!
Posted: 10/3/26 at 8:07pm
This last post by broadwayfreak underscores my earlier point: that the play belongs to the two adult children, who arrive at this Christmas to confront a layered legacy. If the three older characters carry the traumatic history, Brooke carries the linear action, and her brother is certainly in limbo about the family's ability to forge a broader reconciliation. It's a tribute to the focus of this production, and direction in particular, that the two younger stars are emerging as central to the success. From a storytelling standpoint, that's as it should be.
I have the script, and have often thought that the single sibling scene at the top of act two is one of the highlights of the play, among Baitz's best work, and deftly illustrtes an entire history.
Updated On: 10/3/26 at 08:07 PM
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