Buried Child by Sam Shepard. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey 2018. Directed by Paul Mullins. Pictured (left to right): Sherman Howard as Dodge and Andrea Morales as Shelly. Photo credit: Jerry Dalia.
Review – Buried Child
Buried Child is a stunning piece of work now on stage at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. In her welcoming remarks on Opening Night, the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, Bonnie Monte, told the audience she thinks this is a modern American classic. I agree with her. It is an outstanding piece of writing by Playwright Sam Shepard showing the genius he was. Additionally, the production as it is performed is a true piece of theatrical art. Serious playgoers need to add Buried Child onto their must see list. This is the first time Shakespeare Theatre of NJ is doing a Shepard play. Hopefully, this will not be the last.
Why serious playgoers? This play is not for the faint of heart or those who are looking for a show that is easy to figure out. It is a true allegory in every sense of the word. The fictional characters provide truth and generalizations about human existence. This play is not given in a vacuum. So even though it is written in a style that gives laughs, there is much more behind what one hears on the stage. It is dark as it examines a family gone wrong. It provides thoughts on the decline of rural America as well.
Background
Buried Child was written by Sam Shepard. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979. When it was revived on Broadway in 1996, it was nominated for five Tony Awards, including the award for Best Play. Originally written in 1978, Mr. Shepard was serving as the playwright in residence at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco. It is one of a trilogy of family plays he wrote that also includes Curse of the Starving Class and True West.
The Story
Pictured (left to right): Anthony Marble as Tilden, Sherman Howard as Dodge, and Carol Halstead as Halie. Photo credit: Jerry Dalia.
The story centers around a family who live on a farm in Illinois. The farmhouse has seen better days. Its decay runs along side the decay of the family. Dodge is the patriarch who is in ill health. He spends much of his time resting on the couch in the living room. His major activities include smoking and drinking. He yells upstairs to wife, Halie, who finds more interesting things to do outside of the house. She is not seen for quite awhile in the play and we never see the upstairs. However, we later learn there are many family photos up there of better times.
Son Tilden is a sad person who walks in several different times carrying vegetables in his arms. Halie asks him where they came from and when he says in back of the house, she disputes him saying nothing has grown there for years. But that is his favorite place to be. And later in the play we learn why.
Another son, Bradley, comes in and cuts Dodge’s hair while he is asleep. Later, signs of abuse to his head during the cut are evident. Shelly arrives with Vince who is Tilden’s son. They haven’t seen each other in years and Tilden claims he does not remember Vince. This is a symbolic moment in the play as the approach of the story of the buried child starts to unravel.
There are many more moments of truth that unfold especially the very end that involves Tilden and the hidden secret in the backyard. But before that happens, Dodge announces that he is leaving the house and farm to Vince who is more than willing to stay on. Why would he stay after he escaped such a dysfunctional situation? This quote from Sam Shepard might describe why Vince stays on and why the family will continue on:
“I mean every once in a while I’m just amazed when I catch a glimpse of who I really am. Just a little flash, like the gesture of my hand in a conversation and WHAM there’s my old man. Right there, living inside me like a worm in the wood.” Sam Shepard, Sam Shepard: A Life
Director, Cast, and Creatives
Marking his 25th anniversary with the Shakepeare Theatre is Paul Mullins who directs this production of Buried Child. The cast he directs includes:
- Sherman Howard as Dodge, the family patriarch who is in bad health but continues to drink and smoke.
- Halie as Dodge’s wife played by Carol Halstead.
- Anthony Marble plays Tilden, very strange, but very instrumental to the plot.
- Roger Clark plays Bradley, the disabled son.
- Young, vibrant grandson of Dodge and Halie is Vince with Paul Cooper playing the role.
- Andrea Morales plays Shelly, Vince’s girlfriend.
- Michael Dale plays Father Dewis who comes into the farmhouse at a very transitional moment for the play and the family.
The Creative Team for Buried Child does an outstanding job to help make this production as powerful as it is. A big round of applause go out to:
- Michael Schweikardt – Scenic Designer – the set told part of the story
- Andrea Hood – Costume Designer – so much about their characters
- Tony Galaska – Lighting Designer – superb especially the last scene
- Erik T. Lawson – Sound Designer – loved the rain effects
- Jackie Mariani – Production Stage Manager – made it all work so well
Additional Information About Buried Child
Running Time:
Location: The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre located at 36 Madison Avenue in Madison, NJ on the campus of Drew University
Performances: Shows run now through Oct. 7, 2018, Tuesdays through Sundays.
Special Performances:
- The Symposium Series performances offer a post-show discussion with the cast and artistic staff and are following the Tuesday, September 25 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, September 29 at 2:00 p.m., and Saturday, October 6 at 2:00 p.m. performances.
- The Know the Show pre-show talks are offered free-of-cost. For Buried Child it will be held on Thursday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m., with the show beginning at 8:00 p.m.
- The captioned performance for Buried Child will be on Sunday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. The Audio Described performance for Buried Child will be on Sunday, September 30 at 7:30 p.m. with a sensory seminar beginning at 6:00 p.m. For more information, please contact the Box Office.
- A student matinee performance is offered on Wednesday, October 3 at the very affordable price of $17 per ticket.
Contact for Info and Tickets: Purchase tickets at The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre located at 36 Madison Avenue in Madison by calling the Box Office at 973-408-5600 or by going online at ShakespeareNJ.org.
Suggested Audience: Mature theater goers