Buried Child
By Sam Shepard
October 2019
The Latvian Society Theater
A dark Pulitzer-winning play receives a revitalized take.
How far will a family go to keep their secrets buried? Buried Child - the 1979 Pulitzer Prize winning drama - is a powerful and haunting portrayal of the crumbling myth of the American family - this time reframed within an Illinois “sundown town.” Vince returns home to his family's farm, where his father festers over old wounds as Grandpa drinks himself to death to avoid Grandma. Strangely, no one recognizes Vince. Hardly the homecoming he expected, a history of hurt and betrayal emerges as the family's darkest secrets are unearthed from the barren corn field.
Creative Team
Dane Eissler … Director/Specialty Prop Designer
Colin McIlvaine … Set Designer
Kiran Grace … Costume Designer
Molly Jo … Lighting Designer
Chris Sannino … Sound Designer
Matt Basen … Props Designer
Flannel & Hammer … Technical Director
Shawn Collins … Master Electrician
Evelynn Deus … Stage Manager
Mike Grubb … Assistant Director
Glynnis Nadel … Assistant Stage Manager
Kylie Westerbeck … Production Photos
Cast
Damien J. Wallace … Dodge
Cathy Simpson … Hallie
Walter DeShields … Tilden
Carlo Campbell … Bradley
Mark Christie … Vince
Merci Lyons-Cox … Shelly
Davey Strattan White … Father Dewis
About Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard (November 5, 1943 - July 27, 2017) was an award-winning playwright, Oscar-nominated actor to rockstar drummer and songwriter, he’s widely considered to be one of American’s most iconic and prolific theater artists.
Growing up under the roof of an alcoholic ex-military father, Shepard was a trouble-maker with creative pursuits. At the age of 20, he left for NYC to pursue an independent life in the arts. Heavily inspired by jazz music, Shepard’s writing quickly cemented his place in the theatre community, with over twenty plays produced in just eight years in theatres such as La Mama and Theatre Genesis. He would go on to collaborate with lover and rockstar Patti Smith, write music with Bob Dylan, and work in London, before returning home to America. In the coming years, he would go on to write his most important works.
In 2017, Sam Shepard died due to complications with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).