‘Buried Child’ Shows the Genius of Playwright Sam Shepard

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Karen Nowosad

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

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‘Brick City’ Tough Issues but Hope is There

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Karen Nowosad

Madison Ferris as Jessie and Chris Grant as Darnell in the Premiere Stages production of Brick City by Nicole Pandolfo. Photo by Mike Peters.

Brick City – A Review

Brick City by Nicole Pandolfo is a new play at the Premiere Stage Company at Kean University. This is a special time for both the playwright and Premiere Stages because Brick City is one of three selections from the 2017 NJPAC Stage Exchange Commission in partnership with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and New Jersey Theatre Alliance. The play runs through September 23 at Kean’s Bauer Boucher Theatre Center. This is the first professional production for Brick City and it impressed audiences who saw it on opening weekend.

Brick City  focuses on the lives of two students who attend a public high school in Newark and it brings an emphasis to problems faced by urban high school students. Ms. Pandolfo is right on target with her story that centers around a disabled female student.Jessie, and male student,Darnell, who is on the school’s basketball team. Jessie has no interest in basketball and Darnell struggles to get a good grade to remain on the team. Remaining on the team is critical to getting on to college for Darnell as he needs a basketball scholarship to make that happen. Jessie also has pressure on her to improve her attendance and grade or she faces being expelled.

The setting is a classroom in the school where extended study hall takes place. Jessie and Darnell are the only two students in the group who need to brush up on Algebra. Their teacher, Veronica Vega, knows the challenges these two face as she worked her way through an urban school system as well.

A final character very instrumental to the plot is Rogelio Ayala. Upon his return from a five year prison term, he comes to the classroom to see his relative, Darnell and also to see Miss Vega. He and Veronica dated before he was sent to prison for embezzlement. Although the couple lost touch, they still feel that electricity between each other. Rogelio wants to help Darnell get some money. So he involves him in a sports betting operation. What happens from that affects all the characters and leads to a surprising conclusion.

As the story unfolds, Jessie’s reason for being in a wheelchair is revealed along with the life she is living. Miss Vega provides some suggestions and help to her. But Darnell is stuck in some ways that the teacher cannot straighten out. Veronica decides to break off with Rogelio and that decision brings some surprising consequences with it.

It would not be right to give away the ending, but suffice it to say that there is hope for a better future for the two students. This aura of hope shines through the ending of the story and though there is not a definitive note of what happens, the audience is left to feel that these two young people can and will have a brighter future.

Director and Cast

Jessi D. Hill directs Brick City. The cast include Chris Grant as Darnell. Mr. Grant is a student at Kean University working towards his degree in theater arts. He makes Darnell a very believable character, one that you like and cheer on.  Madison Ferris turns in a sensitive and moving portrayal of Jessie. Her character is snarky at first. But as the play ends, Jessie is one to admire. Jacqueline Correa plays Veronica Vega, the teacher with a past that led her to where she is now. Ms. Correa develops her as an idealist who is determined to help her students. Rafael Benoit plays Rogelio Ayala, the scheming and scamming man just let out of prison. Somehow, Mr. Benoit makes this character very likeable but also unwilling to stay on the right side of the law. Those traits turn out to be both good and bad for Veronica and Darnell.

A hearty round of applause goes out to playwright Nicole Pandolfo for the  solid development of the characters and the story. The dialog keeps the show moving at a good pace. The notes of hope at the end are a pleasure to have during a time when hope is something all of us want to have.

Additional Information about Brick City

Running Time: Approx. 1 hr. 30 minutes with one intermission

Location: Bauer Boucher Theatre Center on the Kean University main campus in Union, N.J.

Performances: Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 3:00 pm through September 23, 2018.

Contact for Info and Tickets: call the box office at 908-737-7469 or visit Premiere Stages online at www.premierestagesatkean.com

Suggested Audience: The play content will work well for younger theater goers from high school age and up. Younger than that might also be fine. Parents know their children’s interest best.

Additional Information: Audience members are also invited to further engage with the issues raised by Ms. Pandolfo’s thought-provoking play through free post-show discussions with community leaders, local experts and artists involved with the production after select matinee performances (September 9, 15 and 22 at 3:00 pm). Featured speakers include Ms. Pandolfo (Sunday, September 9); Mr. Álvarez and Mr. Mendoza (Saturday, September 15); and Jeremy Johnson, executive director of Newark Arts (Saturday, September 22). Premiere will also offer a series of informal pre-show talks every Saturday evening 30 minutes prior to performance in the lobby of the theatre.

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‘Heartbreak House’ Brings the Audience to 1940’s London

Posted on September 14, 2018 by Karen Nowosad

The cast of ‘Heartbreak House’ Photo Credit Carol Rogg

Review – Heartbreak House

Treat yourself to a unique theatrical experience and go see Heartbreak House now playing at Theatre Row. It is like two plays in one because it acts out an actual show under the name of Heartbreak House, but it performs as if its patrons are in an air raid shelter during a bombing raid in London of 1940. This performance allows modern day audiences to experience the way entertainers of that time did what they could to help people get through those raids.

George Bernard Shaw wrote Heartbreak House and this production is  presented by Gingold Theatrical Group.

Background

Shaw began writing Heartbreak House prior to the outbreak of World War I. According to notes from Gingold Theatrical Group, Shaw “withheld it until after the war due to the general outrage at him for making speeches and writing articles to attempt to discourage the conflict.”   Heartbreak House had its US premiere performed by New York’s famed Theatre Guild in 1920 in a version rewritten by Shaw.  This production by Gingold Theatrical Group takes Shaw’s hand-written version along with some later typed manuscripts, letters with directives, and various production scripts Shaw worked on and approved. Seeing art as activism, Shaw had hoped this play would serve as a warning about an oncoming war; but it was too late.

The Setting

Entrance for ‘Heartbreak House’ – photo credit K. Nowosad

Audiences will see how this production is inspired by actual events during World War II from the set and certain actions during the play.

At the entrance to the theater is a sign designating it as an Air Raid Shelter along with sandbags stacked on the side. A small handout for the show is given to each person that has advertisements from that time period as well as the lyrics to songs. A full Playbill is distributed as you leave after the show.

Once inside the Lion Theatre, the faint sounds of an air raid alert play on the speakers. There are Union Jack banners hanging around the seating area.  Looking at the stage, a simple house with two floors displays. Swing music from the era plays as the audience prepares for the start of the show. The authenticity of this setting allows audiences to feel like they are in London’s Ambassador Theater in 1940 when they are urged to go down to the basement for shelter. This corresponds to what actually happened during bombing raids.  As nerves frayed, the cast would do what they could to entertain and hopefully calm them. So this takes place before the actual Heartbreak Hotel play begins but it is also part of the overall production. The cast members ask everyone to sing a few songs with them thus honoring the memory of that tradition as well.

Story and Cast

With direction by David Staller, the play itself is funny with with a cast who does a superb job with their characters. It centers on one day when members of a family gather at their childhood home and make decisions about what to do next with their lives. It opens with Ellie Dunn, delightfully played by Kimberly Immanuel, entering the house only to find the man she loves lives there. That man, Hector Hushabye, played with a great gusto for life and women by Tom Hewitt, is also in love with several other women none of whom are his wife. His wife named Hesione is played by Karen Ziemba. She plays this role as the steady, knows what to do woman of the house. When her sister, Lady Ariadne Utterwood arrives after many years absence, the contrast is startling. Alison Fraser plays the part of Lady Utterwood with tremendous emphasis on sarcastic comebacks which makes her character very funny to watch.

Technically, the head of the house is Captain Shotover played with a mature and open nature by Raphael Nash Thompson. Technically head of the house but not really because he resides on the upper level of the home as he meditates and seeks the Seventh Degree of Concentration. Hesione truly runs the house and many lives as well. She attracts men easily as Boss Mangan finds out. The Boss, played as a stern yet somewhat well meaning businessman by Derek Smith, is supposed to marry Ellie despite the fact that he does not love her. Ellie’s father, Mazzini Dunn, is played sweetly by Lenny Wolpe. Mazzini seems like the most out of touch character at first. But he reveals things he knew about himself and Mazzini that help daughter Ellie eventually find the love that she needs in her life.  Jeff Hiller takes on the multi-faceted roles of Guinness/Randall Utterwood/Burglar with good, strong facial expressions and humorous actions.

The play is a commentary on traditions and morals of the day as told by George Bernard Shaw. The concept of living one’s life with only one spouse is brought into question. The roles of men and women are questioned. A man admits that a woman can hypnotize him. Thoughts such as “No husband is in their first youth for long” are expressed. The second act is a little long; some of the expression of thoughts on life are over done. There is a lot to say and time starts to run out.

The play ends with a return to the fact that this audience is in the basement of the Ambassadors Theatre while an air raid warning sounds. It is a funny show but prepare for an unexpected and dramatic ending of what living in London in 1940 was like when the Bltze wrecked havoc on people trying to live their lives.

Additional Information about Heartbreak House

Running Time: 2 hr. 30 with one intermission

Location: The Lion Theatre at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street between 9th and Dyer Avenues.

Performances: Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 7:30pm, Friday & Saturday evenings at 8pm, and matinees Saturday 2pm & Sunday at 3pm, with one special 2pm matinee Wednesday September 26th. Show is scheduled to run through Sept. 29, 2018.

Contact for Info and Tickets: Tickets Purchase online at Telecharge.com, by phone at 212-239-6200 or in person at the Theatre Row Box Office.

Additional Information: For more information about Heartbreak House or any of the programs at Gingold Theatrical Group, call 212/355-7823, email info@gingoldgroup.org, or visit www.gingoldgroup.org online.

 

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