Catastrophic’s production of Buried Child continues the company’s tradition of presenting heartfelt renditions of what could be called “avant-garde classics.” Having previously presented highly acclaimed versions of modern masterpieces by Samuel Beckett (Endgame, Waiting for Godot), María Irene Fornés (The Danube), Sarah Kane (Crave), and Wallace Shawn (Our Late Night, The Designated Mourner, Marie and Bruce), Catastrophic now adds the iconic Sam Shepard to that distinguished list. Everett Evans, in reviewing Catastrophic’s Endgame for the Houston Chronicle, asserted that that production: “demonstrates exactly why this company and its artistic director Jason Nodler are so important to the city’s cultural life. Catastrophic answers a particular need by producing a kind of theater no one else is doing. […] Certainly no other group in town is doing such work this consistently, nor with the commitment and skill that distinguish every moment of Endgame.”

Nodler has a long history with Shepard’s plays going back to before Catastrophic was founded, having previously directed Suicide in B-flat, Cowboy Mouth, and two experimental one-acts, “Action” and “Chicago,” for Infernal Bridegroom Productions, and When the World Was Green, by Shepard and Joseph Chaikin, a site-specific production outdoors at The Mattress Factory for the Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh. 

Catastrophic regular Jeff Miller, who appeared in IBP’s Suicide in B-flat and numerous productions with IBP and Catastrophic since, will make his directing debut. Kyle Sturdivant will assist. The stellar cast features Rutherford Cravens as Dodge, Carolyn Houston Boone as Halie, Greg Dean as Tilden, Kyle Sturdivant as Bradley, Dayne Lathrop as Vince, Candice D'Meza as Shelly, and Charlie Scott as Father Dewis. Set design by Ryan McGettigan, lights by John Smetak, costumes by Macy Lyne, sound by Shawn St. John, props by Lauren Davis. Don’t miss the ultimate weird family drama that the New York Times praised for its “rhythmic sense of speech and imagery that finds the dark, scary poetry behind every domestic arrangement.”