February 7, 2011
Theater Emory continues its season of Pulitzer Prize-winning plays with "Buried Child" by Sam Shepard, Feb. 17-27 in the Mary Gray Munroe Theater.
This dark comedy focuses on the secrets of a dysfunctional American family, hiding its past and avoiding familial intimacy by using their acerbic wit.
Director Janice Akers sees "Buried Child" as full of comedic detail. "The family dynamic is bare, raw and monstrous, and really, really funny," says Akers. "I think what we're really hungry for is how family members contradict each other. I think we laugh because we can't believe our ears."
"From this family, we get a kind of delicious anticipation of what will come out of their mouths next…I think it has a lot of land mines in it and when they surface, it's wonderful," says Akers. "Shepard seems to be tuned into family relationships. He has a very keen eye for family dynamics and dysfunction."
The cast includes professional actors Timothy McDonough, Jill Jane Clements, Allan Edwards, Clint Thornton and Tom Thon, with student actors Ari Blinder and Natalya Zmudzin.
The design team includes set designer Sara Ward, costume designer Rosalind Staib, lighting designer Joseph Monaghan III and sound designer Scott Little.
Theater Emory performs "Buried Child" Feb. 17-19 and 23-26 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 20 and 27 at 2 p.m. in the Mary Gray Munroe Theater in the Dobbs University Center.
Tickets ($18; $14 discount category members; $6 Emory students) are available from the Arts at Emory box office at 404.727.5050 or www.arts.emory.edu. Free parking is available in the Fishburne and Peavine Parking decks.