A Scar That Won’t Heal

Buried Child – Ashton Rep

The late actor Sam Shepard was best known for his performances in films, such as “The Right Stuff,” “Steel Magnolias” and “Crimes of the Heart.” But an Obie Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for “Buried Child” launched his career as a playwright. The drama, which is bleak, poetic, filled with dark humor and populated by characters living on the outskirts of society, was a hit for the Steppenwolf Theatre in 1995. The following year, a Broadway revival went on to earn the production five Tony nominations, including Best Play. As AstonRep Theatre Company launches its 15th and final season, company member Derek Bertelsen directs a new production that feels fresh and au courant once again. His production, consumed by an overwhelming sense of dread, offers some stunning performances by a company of talented, experienced actors.

Rain falls steadily, relentlessly outside an old, dilapidated house on a failed plot of farmland in downstate Illinois. Inside lies Dodge, a sickly old man, fading away on a tacky couch. He coughs and hacks, growls and grimaces, while Halie, his wife, carries on a nonstop monologue from her upstairs bedroom. Now and then Dodge sneaks a swig of whiskey from the bottle he’s hidden in the sofa cushions. All the while, Halie screams criticism, questions and directives at her husband, while she finishes dressing to go out.

We learn that Dodge and Halie originally had three sons, although Ansel, now deceased, was once their Golden Child and the family’s hope for carrying on the American Dream. While Halie eulogizes and praises her dead son’s accomplishments, the audience guesses that Ansel is the titular “Buried Child.” But by the end of this horror set in the heartland they’ll learn the truth of a long-guarded family secret. It reveals itself, like a festering scar over a wound that won’t heal. Eventually Halie heads out to church in the pouring rain, leaving her eldest son, Tilden, to look after his father. 

Dodge keeps wheedling Tilden to go and buy him another bottle before Halie comes back home. However, the old man is shocked when his simple-minded son returns from their muddy, rain-saturated fields cradling an armful of sweetcorn. The farm has been barren since the Great Depression, but inexplicably Tilden keeps finding all kinds of vegetables growing out back. Dodge wants to keep Tilden in his sight now because his son got into some kind of trouble with the law while he was living out in New Mexico. Now Tilden’s back home again, living safely with his parents once more.

But Dodge is truly frightened of his other son, Bradley. Disabled, since cutting off his own leg with a chainsaw, Bradley is also emotionally unhinged. He has severe anger issues, and is forever venting his ill temper on everyone around him. Bradley takes out his hostility toward his father by sneaking into the house at night and savagely shaving Dodge’s head with a pair of electric clippers. For protection, Dodge always wears an old baseball cap, in case Bradley arrives unannounced.

Without any warning, a young man named Vince arrives at the farmhouse. It turns out he’s Tilden’s estranged son and Dodge’s grandson. Vince hasn’t seen his family in six years and doesn’t know that his dad has returned to the family farm from New Mexico. Vince drops into this rural world with his girlfriend, Shelly. Both young people are equally surprised to find that neither Dodge nor Tilden recognize or remember Vince. Then Tilden comes in from the muddy fields with a bundle of carrots, which he orders Shelly to peel. Although he doesn’t seem to remember Vince, Dodge convinces his grandson to go buy him another bottle of whiskey. He does this, but while Vince is away, Bradley arrives, clomping into the house with his artificial leg, threatening Shelly and assaulting her. He throws her rabbit fur coat over Dodge, who’s lying on the floor, and settles onto the sofa for the night. But not even these frightening events can prepare the audience for the unexpected developments that will take place in the final moments of this play.

Mr. Bertelmen’s production focuses primarily on Dodge and Tilden, while it also zooms in on Shelly, the innocent outsider who becomes the audience’s representative in this bizarre horror story. The surreal interaction between all the damaged characters of this Illinois farm family encourages the audience to fear for Shelly. As she makes her way through this nightmarish scenario and into a world of hidden secrets and perverted morality her safety seems to be threatened. Here, Mr. Bertelsen has created the theatrical equivalent of a horrible automobile accident. He gives us a scene that repulses us but one in which we can’t look away.  This mesmerizing production gives the audience the creeps while it challenges them to become involved in this unsavory story of a broken, deteriorating family.

Bertelsen’s cast is excellent. Jim Morley is a veteran actor who has appeared in shows all over Chicagoland. He was last seen at AstonRep in their production of “Next Fall;” and he’s been seen elsewhere in two of Sam Shepard’s other plays. Morley is both heartbreaking and humorous as Dodge, a broken old man who’s losing his battle with illness. Handsome Robert Tobin is practically unrecognizable playing Tilden. This accomplished actor has proven his skill in productions like “Equus,” “Les Liaisons Dangereuses,” “The Lieutenant of Inishmore,” and many others. Here he creates a character who is both tragic and touching. This will be one of the roles for which this gifted actor will long be remembered.

As Shelly, Stephanie Baires makes her auspicious AstonRep debut. She’s wonderful in this role and portrays her character with depth and sincere honesty. Ms Baires is both funny and feisty, never allowing Shelly to look like a victim but keeping her always in control, constantly trying to work out what’s going on in this nightmare in which she’s found herself. Roberto Jay is no stranger to AstonRep, while also making a name for himself at other Chicago theaters, such as A Red Orchid, Northlight, The Gift and the Goodman. His Vince is cocky, confident and comical when we first meet him. But when he reappears later in the play, drunk and defiant, we see a whole other side of this character. We come to realize that this apple didn’t fall too far from the family tree.

Rian Jairell is truly scary as Bradley. He’s like the mad slasher who rampages in horror films. This actor creates an unpredictable psycho whose next move constantly surprises and shocks. Jairell’s Bradley softens a little, however, toward the end of the play, becoming a whining, spoiled man-child who is no longer in control. He finds, at last, that he can’t get his own way all the time. Liz Cloud may be a familiar face to those who’ve seen her as Sister in “Late Night Catechism” or running the various seasonal Bingo shows. Ms Cloud plays Halie as a self-centered harpy, a shrew who continually nags and harasses her entire family and any stranger who happens to wander into her domain. She’s dictated by a demanding sexual appetite, and no man is safe from her wants and desires. And Jorge Salas, making his AstonRep debut as Father Dewis, is the latest object of Halie’s affection. Of course, she has alternative motives because she wants something else entirely from him. Salas plays his role as Shepard intended: to simply be arm candy and a gopher for Halie. As a religious leader, Father Dewis is ineffectual and fades into the background when finally called upon to offer guidance.

Set within Jeremiah Barr’s sparse, fragmented farmhouse, atmospherically lit with gray and gloom by Samantha Barr, and glazed with a sound designed by Becca Venable, this production is a powerful and respectable interpretation of Sam Shepard’s view of a rotting American Dream. But it’s Derek Bertelsen’s deft staging and his guidance of an excellent ensemble cast that make this surreal nightmare so haunting. This is a production that may dwell in our dreams and torment theatergoers long time after the final curtain.   

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented October 21-November 19 by Aston Rep at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway, Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the theater box office, by calling 773-828-9129 or by going to www.astonrep.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com