Buried Child
Closed 1h 50m
Buried Child
75

Buried Child NYC Reviews and Tickets

75%
(104 Ratings)
Positive
73%
Mixed
22%
Negative
5%
Members say
Great acting, Intense, Absorbing, Thought-provoking, Slow

About the Show

The New Group presents Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about an American family struggling to overcome the many obstacles in the way of the American Dream. Starring Ed Harris.

Read more Show less

Show-Score Member Reviews (104)

Sort by:
  • Default
  • Standing in our community
  • Highest first
  • Lowest first
  • Newest first
  • Oldest first
  • Only positive
  • Only negative
  • Only mixed
62 Reviews | 20 Followers
99
Great acting, Funny, Riveting, Must see, Absorbing

See it if Looking for a tremendous cast led by Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. Sam Shepard's brilliant portrayal of a family lost in tragedy.

Don't see it if Looking for a fluffy, comical piece. Although witty with humor dispersed throughout, it is a tragedy after all.

50 Reviews | 6 Followers
98
Absorbing, Great writing, Great acting, Edgy, Demanding

See it if you want to see some of the best acting imaginable on a stage.

Don't see it if you want escapist entertainment.

NS
273 Reviews | 200 Followers
95
Absorbing, Great acting, Thought-provoking, Original, Masterful

See it if You are a Sam Shepard fan, love great acting, emotional involvement, story of human involvement and frailties.

Don't see it if You do not like to think.

95 Reviews | 19 Followers
95
Edgy, Great acting, Great writing, Intense, Thought-provoking

See it if You want to see a great Sam Shepard play. Terrific acting.

Don't see it if N/A

299 Reviews | 41 Followers
92
Absorbing, Great acting, Must see, Intense, Riveting

See it if Although some of the actors were not as good as I would have liked, most were wonderful. It was very intense, making one teary eyed.

Don't see it if If you don't like intense drama.

PMF
57 Reviews | 22 Followers
90
Absorbing, Entertaining, Quirky, Epic, Hilarious

See it if You want to see Ed Harris act the hell out of a role! Props to Madigan, Sparks, and Pine as well. A well-deserved Pulitzer to Mr. Shepard!

Don't see it if What were they thinking with casting the two younger actors. They are way out of their depth amongst the people mentioned above.

163 Reviews | 113 Followers
90
Absorbing, Entertaining, Funny, Great acting, Great writing

See it if You like slightly dark humor and great acting.

Don't see it if If you're disturbed easily.

64 Reviews | 17 Followers
89
Clever, Funny, Intelligent, Quirky, Great writing

See it if You want to see a truly fantastic production of a one of our darker classic American plays. It's a swift, exciting 90 minute ride. Worth it.

Don't see it if You're looking for a light comedy or anything that will breeze over you. This one's a thinker.

Critic Reviews (38)

The New York Times
February 17th, 2016

"Mr. Elliott and his starry cast give us a thoughtful, lucid presentation that’s absorbing enough to remind us of why it’s always worth revisiting…The greatest strength and weakness of Mr. Elliott’s production lie in its determined prosiness...It wants us to listen to Mr. Shepard’s characters as if they truly were members of our own family, so that they can sucker-punch us when we feel most unguarded...It muffles its climactic shocks."
Read more

Time Out New York
February 18th, 2016

"Directed by Scott Elliott and anchored by a deeply textured yet effortless performance by Ed Harris, the revival doesn’t strain for shock, emphasizing ordinary rather than grotesque aspects of its characters’ lives...The ensemble is packed with veteran talent...While this may not be the finest 'Buried Child' you’ll see, the play only comes around every 20 years, and it’s worth a homecoming."
Read more

New York Magazine / Vulture
February 17th, 2016

"Unfortunately, and despite two excellent performances, neither story seems terribly urgent in the New Group’s limp revival...Ed Harris, all gaunt charisma, brings specificity and gravity to a role that can sometimes seem merely symbolic…And as Halie, Dodge’s wife, Amy Madigan imbues that chatterbox harridan with an angry dignity that helps balance the tale even if it does not always seem authorized…Once we get past Dodge and Halie, though, the production starts to wobble."
Read more

Deadline
February 17th, 2016

"A fine but wayward cast led by Ed Harris and Amy Madigan makes an almost unwatchable mess of Sam Shepard’s ferocious drama 'Buried Child'...'Buried Child' is a family melodrama in which an American dream — of abundance, familial love — are subsumed in a putrifying reality that can only pass down from one generation to the next. All sense of this is absent from Elliott’s production, which speeds by in a single act as if to caution us against thinking too hard about how clueless it is."
Read more

New York Daily News
February 17th, 2016

"Harris’ unforced and potent performance in the New Group’s revival makes this engaging but unevenly acted production worthwhile...Cast against type by director Scott Elliott, 'Mad Man' alum Sommer effectively taps his dark side as Bradley. Sparks, as always, is magnetic. Madigan and Farmiga need to dig deeper to make their characters less one-note. 'Buried Child' isn’t exactly subtle but it still grabs and sends shivers."
Read more

Variety
February 17th, 2016

"Shepard’s theatrical idiom is stark poetic realism that gradually gives way to surreal lunacy...Shepard’s idiosyncratic style is not for the faint of heart, as this tentative production illustrates. In general, the actors seem all too aware that they’re acting in a seminal 20th century work about the collapse of an agrarian economy, the breakdown of the family and the death of the American Dream. They should keep a closer eye on Harris, "
Read more

The Hollywood Reporter
February 17th, 2016

"What once seemed so provocative, so daring in its assault on the American family and society in general, now comes across as windy and pretentious…For 'Buried Child' to have the desired impact, it must be presented with a bracing theatricality that this tame production never musters. Director Scott Elliott gives the work a naturalistic treatment that only emphasizes its strained aspects...The performances are somewhat disappointing as well."
Read more

New York Post
February 19th, 2016

“The main reason to see ‘Buried Child’ is Harris and Madigan. Harris spends most of the show on a threadbare couch and somehow manages to be charismatic anyway…Some of the supporting roles are a little wonkier. Farmiga gives a mannered performance but it reinforces her stranger-in-a-strange-land status and she makes it work for her.”
Read more