WRCJ 90.9 F PRESENTS tTRO SYMPHONY bRC eig V • e oo ) Set /es n 1 3 t)SSIBL SrtHE WILLIAM DAVIDSON FOUNDATIONli HEAR THE DSO IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD! MOZART & HAYDN Sandy Birch (Slide Grauman), Leah Smith (Brooke Wyeth) and Bryan Lark (Trip Wyeth) in Other Desert Cities Ward Stare, conductor • Elena Urioste, violin Other Desert Cities MOZART Overture to The Marriage of Figaro VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1, "Classical" RAVEL Tzigane HAYDN Symphony No. 60, "The Distracted" JET closes 25th-anniversary season with a not-to-be-missed drama. Ronelle Grier Contributing Writer W hen a brilliant script meets a gifted cast and an imaginative director, the result is the spectacular JET season finale Other Desert Cities, the Pulitzer Prize- nominated play written by Jon Robin Baitz and directed by David Wolber. Other Desert Cities is a co production with Ann Arbor's Performance Network Theatre. Thanks to the skill of Wolber, artistic director at Performance Network, there is never a dull moment, even though the play runs close to 21/2 hours, including intermission. The many memorable lines are deliv- ered with perfect timing, and the plot is riveting, with a stunning twist near the end so surprising it elicited literal gasps from some of the audience members, including myself. The story takes place on Christmas Eve in the Palm Springs home of Lyman (Hugh Maguire) and Polly (Naz Edwards) Wyeth. Their daughter, Brooke (Leah Smith), a New York writer, has come to visit, bringing the manuscript of her latest book, a memoir that reveals certain deep family secrets her parents would prefer to leave buried. Adding to the mix are Brooke's brother Trip (Bryan Lark), who produces a popular reality TV show in Los Angeles, and Polly's sister, Silda (Sandra Birch), an outspoken recovering alcoholic who is staying with Lyman and Polly after a recent relapse. Lyman's desire to put Brooke's memoir on hold and enjoy the Christmas holiday is quickly thwarted as old wounds sur- face, and the family members express their conflicting recollections of events surrounding the death of the oldest son, Henry, several years earlier. Brooke, who was hospitalized due to severe depression and a mental break- down after her brother's death, believes that telling her family's story is crucial to her recovery. Polly, who has become an old-guard Hollywood Republican despite her - Texas/Jewish upbringing, is determined to stop Brooke from publishing a book she believes will ruin her family beyond repair. Lyman, a staunch Republican who has been given an ambassadorship by his friend President Ronald Reagan, is torn between love for his daughter and his loyalty to his wife and the image they have worked so hard to create. Tempers flare as Polly and Brooke face off while the other family members choose their alle- giances against a backdrop of more universal issues such as party politics and social respon- sibility; even mental illness and alcohol- ism become part of the larger discussion. The cast is extraordinary, individually and together. Edwards is sublime as the WASP-y, world-weary Polly, who strug- gles to maintain her image in the face of her anything-but-conventional family. Maguire is the perfect partner, managing to reveal the loving father and husband beneath his politically correct exterior. Smith is entirely convincing as the angst-ridden daughter who tries to hold onto her ideals without losing her fragile serenity. Lark shows a deeper side of the seemingly happy-go-lucky Trip, the son who is profoundly affected by events he is too young to remember. If there is such a thing as comic relief in this play, it is found in Birch's por- trayal of Silda, who likens Palm Springs to King Tut's tomb, calling it a town "full of mummies with tans." The Wyeth abode was artfully cre- ated by Set Designer Dan Walker, with the assistance of Props Designer and Set Decorator Diane Ulseth. Mary Copenhagen's costumes enhance each character's persona. Appropriate and entertaining musi- cal interludes are courtesy of Sound Designer Phil Powers, with lighting design by Mary Cole. REVIEW Thurs., May 8 at 7:30 p.m. DSO in West Bloomfield Berman Center for the Performing Arts 6600 W. Maple Rd. Sat., May 10 at 8 p.m. Urioste DSO in Bloomfield Hills Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church 1340 W. Long Lake Rd. T S O DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA LEONARD SLATKIN Music Director A COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED ORCHESTRA TICKETS AND MORE INFO AT dso.org or 313.576.5111 GROUPS OF 10 OR MORE CALL 313.576 5130 Over 35 years of Chinese Food Experience. 65 Freshest and High drtlity Vrredientsn (GRAND OPENING % 10 OFF TOTAL FOOD BILL *cannot combine with other offers. Expires 5/18/14. .4010121; ° Art 248-683115566kW. Bloomfield • 4276,Orchard Lake Rd. (Between Cone Rine & Pontiicikail) 2nd location Commerce Township • 248-669-1133 ember's deli *NIMI`W ATED: t May 18 at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. (248) 788-2900; jettheatre.org . 906420 NOW OPEN FOR DINNER- Monday - Friday 7am - 8pm Buy One Entree and get OW Second Entree $3 I. Expires May 29, 2014 Valid for Dinner only Not valid with any other offer 10 OFF Party or Shiva Trays Not valid with any other offer. Same Day Service Available. a 3598 W. Maple at Lahser ❑ Other Desert Cities runs through "WE HAVE GLUTEN FREE & VEGETARIAN DISHES" (next to Kroger) We Deliver! Deli-Fresh Deli-Delicious! OPEN DAILY! Mon.-Fri.: 7am -8p Phone: Sa t. 45 tncl 5m.g - pu 1906990 May 1 • 2014 49