Idyllwild Actors Theatre presents: A comedy of polarized politics, love and family dysfunction

How would you like to spend Christmas in Palm Springs with staunchly Reaganite Republican parents, two liberal adult children and an even more liberal, recently sober aunt? Sound ideal? It is.

“It really is so timely with the political environment,” said Suzanne Avalon, Idyllwild Actors Theatre founder, who plays the superbly coiffed Republican mother Polly Wyeth and directs the production.

In “Other Desert Cities,” Jon Robin Baltz’s dazzling verbal tennis match, the sympathies of the audience keep shifting among the wounded, yet compelling, family members. Add to the mix that liberal New York-based daughter Brooke, played by the always fascinating Meg Wolf, is about to launch her tell-all memoir with sufficient salacious scoops to destroy what’s left of the family fabric.

As the New York Times noted in its review of the Broadway production, “Every one of [the characters] emerges as selfish, loving, cruel, compassionate, irritating, charming and just possibly heroic … [the play] leaves you feeling both moved and gratifyingly sated.”

Avalon noted, “Baltz is such an intelligent writer who gets into the layers and foibles of the characters. Everyone has their own truths.”

IAT’s press release sets the scene for “Other Desert Cities”: “Polly’s water ‘needs vodka for flavor,’ Brooke’s recovering from a mental breakdown, and a lively post-tennis conversation involves weapons of mass destruction, Ron and Nancy, and counseling.”

Others in the cast include Howard Shangraw, the paterfamilias actor-turned-politician Lyman Wyeth; Jacob Teel as California TV producer Trip; and Jeri Greene as Polly’s recovering alcoholic sister Silda.

“Other Desert Cities,” named for a city-guide sign on Interstate 10 in the Coachella Valley, was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It is an IAT readers’ theater production and plays at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, and Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Rainbow Inn. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door and online at www.idyllwildactorstheatre.com. For more information call 951-692-9553.