Buried Child presented by Shattered Globe Theatre at The Greenhouse Theater Center

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...The success of this finely etched production lies in how Scott and his ensemble treat the characters as real people—eccentric certainly, but not inhumanly grotesque. Their pain is recognizable, and the actors deliver their long monologues with a masterful blend of plainspokenness and poetry. Maury Cooper is pathetic and bitter yet hilarious as Dodge, whose terrifying confession brings the drama to its climax; Gerrit O’Neill is haunting as the traumatized Tilden; and David Dastmalchian as Vince combines gentleness with explosive vigor. Linda Reiter crisply defines the warring aspects of Halie’s nature—voracious sexuality and prim moralism—and Ted Hoerl is her perfect foil as the hypocritical, ineffectual minister with whom she’s carrying on."

Windy City Times - Not Recommended

"...Ultimately, Buried Child must come down on the side of the mystical and primal; not merely the physically primal—which this production achieves—but the spiritually primal as well, which this production lacks. Without that extra element, the explosive Act II action seems disconnected, overdone, and even silly although highly theatrical."

Centerstage - Highly Recommended

"...The cast, unvaryingly solid, boasts several standouts. Maury Cooper, convincing as drunkard grandfather Dodge, hacks and mumbles his way through the script, laughter and stunned silence in his wake. Gerrit O'Neil as Vince's shell-shocked father has a way with slow, studied movement, his reticent speech causing the audience to lean in. And Sadler embodies a role rife with contradictions, from which she creates a woman of flesh and blood. The play's pace and tone, attributable as much to director Steve Scott as to Shepard himself, are both pitch-perfect. Scott's smooth, space-conscious direction is aided by scenic designer Kevin Hagan’s faultless set."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...Director Scott’s actors certainly can let ’er rip, gothicwise, when they have to (a prosthetic leg is brandished with particular relish), but they’re careful to ground the play in believable anguish. As the clan’s crumbling progenitors, Cooper and Reiter are equal parts nasty and funny, yet both also poignantly convey confusion, desperation and a pitiable sense of isolation. As the grandson who comes home to find that no one seems to recognize him, Dastmalchian likewise tempers his character’s increasingly violent identity crisis with an affecting vulnerability."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...Shattered Globe’s production contains a fabulous cast of talented players. Maury Cooper, Gerrit O’ Neill and Linda Reiter anchor the work while David Dasmalchian was particularly effective. You’d be hard pressed to find a finer ensemble drama peopled with so many eccentric characters played as richly as Steve Scott’s players do in this riveting gem. Tension mounts as secrets become know as we witness the disintegration of the American Dream. This is Sam Shepard’s finest work. Shattered Globe Theatre effectively delivers an intense production of this timeless classic."