By Michael Buzzelli
Something is buried in the backyard of a fragmented, dysfunctional family in Illinois.
Hint: The title of Sam Shepard’s “Buried Child” is a bit of a spoiler, but the Pulitzer-winning play is darker than you might imagine.
The play starts, like Warhol’s “Sleep,” with Dodge (Brett Sullivan Santry) sleeping in the basement, possibly dying, possibly not. His wife Halie (Susana Garcia-Barragan) shouts at him from another room. She’s not-so-secretly having an affair with a local Protestant minister, Father Dewis (Edward Kunz).
Dodge and Halie’s son Tilden (Jeff Johnston) lives with them. He isn’t all there either. There other living son, Bradley (Michael McBurney) lives nearby. He has taken to tormenting his dying father. Another son, Ansel, died under mysterious circumstances.
When Tilden’s son Vince (Eric Molina) brings his girlfriend (Cecilia Staggers) into town, long-festering secrets are unearthed.
Though the play was first produced in 1978, it feels very current, like an episode of “Black Mirror.” A farming couple who are both very disturbed. Its American Gothic…gone very, very goth. During the curtain speech, the audience is warned about the delicate subject matter the play covers.
The performances are the number one reason to “Buried Child,” particularly Sullivan Santry, Johnston and McBurney. They all burn with intensity.
Sullivan Santry is amazing as a grumbling, grouchy alcoholic, who, in the third act, is finally ready to face the consequences of his actions. He barely leaves the sofa but he’s always moving. He has a series of oft-repeated tics and movements that keep your eyes the actor.
Johnston is terrific as the eldest son. He’s hiding a deep dark, too. He is possibly concealing multiple secrets.
McBurney limps around the stage with ferocity. His character had a chainsaw accident that left him with only one leg, its never clear which leg, though.
The men are oozing with rage, barely holding back their violent natures. There are several moments in the play where you want to get up from your seat and tell Staggers’ Shelley, “Get the hell out of there!”
Sound Designer Tony Risotto heightens the drama with eerie high-pitched noises at key moments during the drama, enough to put your nerves on edge. His work is outstanding.
While Sullivan Santry spends most of the play on the sofa or on the floor, Director Katie Chmura keeps the play from being stagnant. It’s very kinetic. She lets the actors take bold swings and they knock it out of the park.
If you can handle the indelicate subject matter, you’ll want to run down to the Carnegie Stage and see Throughline Theatre’s “Buried Child.”
-MB
“Buried Child” runs from July 19 till July 28 at the Carnegie Stage, 25 West Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. More information can be found here.
