Off-Broadway Harlem show

I attended Opening night recently of Buried Child, a Sam Shepard Revival at Aaron Davis Hall at City College in Harlem. Here’s an excerpt, with additional photos not included in my review, as published on Examiner.com:

BURIED CHILD — Khalil Kain directing “Buried Child” by Sam Shepard at Aaron Davis Hall, which  presented the play in an Off-Broadway production July 11 to August 3. Photo by Jingxi Zhang.

Actor Khalil Kain, known for character roles in films and as Darnell Wilkes on the TV series Girlfriends, made his directing debut recently with an Equity LORT/LOA production of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child.  The show runs through August 3, Aaron Davis Hall, at Harlem’s City College campus.

A racially mixed cast interpreted Shepard’s 1979 Pulitzer prize-winning play about a once prosperous but now dysfunctional Midwestern farm family. The play’s deep, dark secrets reveal incest, murder and multiple personality disorders. When grandson Vince makes a surprise visit with his girlfriend, Shelly, their presence sets off a series of revelations. A haunted house springs to life with Shelly, Vince and his grandpa, Dodge, who does not recognize him. You wonder what’s going to happen next. The ending may knock your socks off!

The cast included: Robert Boardman, as Dodge; Teresa Anne Volgenau, as Halie; Eric Gravez, as Tilden; Stephen Macari, as Bradley; Teniece Divya Johnson, as Shelly; Leroy Smith Graham, as Vince, and Edwin Matos, Jr., as Father Dewis. Set design is by Arnold Bueso. Lighting design is by Brian Aldous. Costume design is by Mary Myers. The production also included: Stage Manager, Reginald L. Wilson; Assistant Stage Manager, Stephanie Peralta; Assistant to the Director, Brandon Baskin; Hair & Makeup, Brandalyn Fulton; and Production Assistant, Michael Aponte; Khalil Kain, director.

Tickets are $25 general admission; $10 seniors and students (with ID). Performances run through August 3 on the following schedule: 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturdays. Call the box office (212) 650-6900. For online tickets go to: www.adhatccny.org. Aaron Davis Hall is located at 135th Street and Convent Avenue, on the City College of New York campus. Subways are #1 to 137th Street; C to 135th Street, or A or D to 145th Street. Free parking is available in the South Campus Parking Lot (enter at 133rd Street and Convent Ave).

BURIED CHILD — Aaron Davis Hall will present an Off-Broadway production of “Buried Child” by Sam Shepard, directed by Khalil Kain, July 11 to August 3, 2013. (L) Robert Boardman as Dodge, (R) Eric Gravez as Tilden. Photo by Jonathan Slaff

 

Cast of Buried Child have fun pose at post-Opening Night Reception.