I have seen a lot of Sam Shepard in venues in Boston, Providence, NY, small theaters, big productions. In the 70’s, La Tourista at the Boston Center for the Arts the actor walked naked into a white light at the end of the play delivering an amazing and incoherent Peyote driven monologue. In Inman Square 30 years ago Cowboy Mouth (written with Patty Smith) had the drum set on stage the whole time, like a Beat poetry recital. The really difficult Tooth of the Crime in NYC in 1995, with Vincent D’Onofrio and music by T-Bone Burnett was transcendent due to the amazing Kirk Acevedo (from Fringe) as Crow. David Wheeler, who always thoroughly understands the work he directs created an almost ritualistic event for the audience with Angel City. Granted I was in an altered state myself when I saw it.

Nevertheless, there is a way to direct and act his plays that creates a hypnotic state with the audience. If everyone is on pitch, it is a dizzying experience that leaves you shaken, thoughtful, and feeling as though you’ve experienced something special that only happens in live theater.
So when a production is mounted where all the elements of language, music, set design are in harmony, conducted a director who recognizes how to bring from every actor that heightened sense of performance is needed for Shepard, it is total joy. Directed by Ethan Hawke, this is one of those productions. The original production in 1985 featured Harvey Keitel, Geraldine Page, Will Patton, Amanda Plummer, Aidan Quinn, Ann Wedgeworth, and Karen Young. I bought tickets well ahead, drove down to NY, only to find one of the cast members was ill and the play was canceled that night only. Geraldine Page played two parts the next night! I waited 25 to see another production!!

I finally feel redeemed. Since I didn’t know these actors they created for me from scratch, personalities that shook me to the core. (However, if you check their collective credits they’re pretty hefty – Keith Carradine, Josh Hamilton, Marin Ireland, Laurie Metcalf, Alessandro Nivola, Maggie Siff, Frank Whaley and Karen Young)

It’s hard to qualify any one performance over the next because every actor is completely, boldly and imaginatively invested in creating characters that are frightening and spellbinding. Somewhere deep in the heart of all the dysfunction of the play, inside the increasingly disorienting story and brilliant interplay of images and motifs, is a lot of American family history. It may not be an easy journey, but it’s the best kind of theater.