Buried Child NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (104)
See it if Watching a rural family in demise hunt for liquor and gather corn will remind you our collective linage is something we have to face.
Don't see it if You know Sheppard's mysterious plays aren't well served with flat realism. The cast is accomplished but Sam's wild sensibility is missing.
See it if you like dramas about dysfunctional families or just want to catch a Pulitzer Prize winner you've never seen.
Don't see it if you prefer light-hearted shows -- this one is quite the opposite.
See it if you are a thinker.
Don't see it if You are easily upset by intense content.
See it if you like Ed Harris
Don't see it if you don't like confusing plays
See it if You're a big Ed Harris fan and want to see him at the top of his game.
Don't see it if You generally dislike Sam Shepard plays.... This won't help.
See it if you are a fan of classic "American Theatre" and want to see some strong acting. Ed Harris was in his character 30 minutes before the show.
Don't see it if dysfunctional family disturb you. And I left with so much confusion because of the lack of explanation for the character development.
See it if you love Ed Harris. He is amazing. This is not one of Shepard's better plays. The play is self-indulgent and the direction is uneven.
Don't see it if you are sleepy. If you are...the constant rain soundscape will put you under.
See it if you like Sam Shepard's work. And if you want to experience the great Ed Harris live on stage. It's uneven as a whole - but still worthwhile.
Don't see it if you don't like to think. Or if you don't want to go to dark places. It's a disturbing story - and it isn't always clear.
Critic Reviews (38)
"Shepard's play melds naturalism and symbolism, with each character's flaws representing something larger and deeper...Fights are fought and secrets are told, but in 'Buried Child' the truth remains elusive, and redemption is not on the menu...I wish the other performances were up to [Ed Harris'] subtle, real, weirdly beautiful turn. Not that the others are bad--in fact, most are excellent. However, under Scott Elliot's uneven direction, they sometimes seem to be in different plays."
Read more
"Harris is about as good here as anything I’ve seen him do on stage: his timing, which sets the pace for the whole ensemble, impeccable. Seasoned featured players keep up, but the roles of Vince, Dodge’s grandson, and Shellie, Vince’s girlfriend, seemed miscast...Still, credit to Scott Elliott’s The New Group that, with productions like this, provides the most reliable venue for revival of breakthrough American drama of the 1960s and 70s."
Read more
"What truly makes 'Buried Child' engaging is its hybridity; it's seemingly straightforward at parts, existing in the real world, but then it's remarkably surreal and symbolic...The obvious mechanism behind the play is the family's secret, but the real treasure is the dualities that complicate the story and whose tension give everything ironic weight...The cast knows how to work with each other, taking their time to set up comedic cues and establish a palpable tension."
Read more
"Shepard's cleverly crafted and layered drama pits three generations of a shattered, self-destructive Midwestern farm family against one another…Ed Harris is sublimely cantankerous and engrossing to watch as Dodge, the dying, couch-ridden patriarch…Amy Madigan is restrained, taut perfection as Halie."
Read more
"It’s surprising, keeping in mind the play’s title and subject matter, just how funny Mr. Shepard’s work is, especially in Mr. Elliott’s hands. This abundance of humor, rich characters, dynamic dialogue and terrific performances, make watching The New Group’s production a worthwhile experience. Yet the play itself, for all its virtues, doesn’t quite deliver...It feels banal...In the end, while the play supplies tension throughout, it offers no revelations, only statements."
Read more
"Buried Child' takes a set of ordinary circumstances and creates something so outrageous, leaving the audience to wonder what on earth was going on in Shepard’s mind...But this type of juxtaposition is often very humorous, and all the actors managed to convey this very well through their tone of voice. Even some lines that don’t necessarily seem hilarious on paper had everyone cracking up. Overall, the actors’ portrayals of a dysfunctional American family are effective and magnetic."
Read more