The REP Presents BURIED CHILD

The REP, Point Park University's professional theatre company, presents Sam Shepard's Buried Child at Point Park University's Pittsburgh Playhouse February 5-21 with a preview performance open to the public on Thursday, Feb. 4; John Shepard directs.

In this 1979 Pulitzer Prize-winning family drama, Sam Shepard takes a macabre look at one American Midwestern family with a very dark secret. This powerful and brilliant play probes deep into the disintegration of the American Dream. When Vince brings his girlfriend Shelly home to meet his family, she is at first charmed by the picturesque farm house. That's before she actually meets his crazy family - his ranting, alcoholic grandparents (Dodge and Halie) and their two sons: Tilden, a hulking semi-idiot, and Bradley, who has lost one leg to a chain saw. Strangely, no one seems to remember Vince at first, and they treat him as an intruder. Eventually, however, they seem to accept him as part of their violently dysfunctional family. When the truth is shockingly unearthed, will the family be able to move beyond its dark curse?

Steve Mendillo, an actor from Los Angeles who has been in numerous Broadway plays, movies and television shows will be playing Dodge; Lisa Richards, also from Los Angeles, has starred in many stage and television roles in New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Pittsburgh, including several plays on Broadway, will be playing the role of Halie. Jeffrey Carpenter plays the role of Tilden; Patrick Jordan plays the role of Bradley; Kiley Caughey plays the role of Shelly; Nikitas Menotiades plays the role of Vince; and Chris Josephs plays the role of Father Dewis. Scenic design is by Michael Thomas Essad; lighting design is by Lloyd Sobel; costume design is by Cathleen Crocker-Perry; and sound design is by Dave Bjornson.

Buried Child was first produced at the Magic Theater in San Francisco on June 27, 1978, where it won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In 1996, the play was revived for two months on Broadway and received nominations for five Tony Awards.

Buried Child opens with a preview performance on Thursday, Feb. 4; the show runs Friday, Feb. 5 through Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010 in the Studio Theatre at Point Park University's Pittsburgh Playhouse. Performances will be held Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets range in price from $24 to $27 and can be purchased by calling the Pittsburgh Playhouse box office at 412-621-4445 or online at www.pittsburghplayhouse.com.

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