Buried Child
by Sam Shepard

presented October 31-November 24, 2002

Direction: Jacqueline Reid
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Dodge: John Hardman
Halie: Colleen McClure
Rev. Dewis: Wayne Rowe
Tilden: Paul Ford
Bradley: Tim D. Janis
Vince: Malcolm Sharbutt
Shelley: Kerry Morrigan

Reviews

"Never have five characters been so honestly awful, so full of anger and self-loathing. The Cell's current production is gutsy; director Jacqueline Reid and her phenomenal cast realize that sometimes going too far is the only way to go far enough. The result is a mesmerizing trip back to the root of this family's self-created horror show....Hardman, Ford, Janis, Morrigan and Sharbutt are as good as they've ever been, and that's damn good....Reid's direction is invisible--it's that good. Watching Friday's premiere was like watching a car crash. I wanted to leave, but I couldn't. It's a powerful production--maybe the best of the year--and deeply, disturbingly honest. Don't miss it, but be forewarned." --Ann L. Ryan, ABQ Journal

"Buried Child by Sam Shepard is a tough play to sit through, but the Cell's November production, directed by Jacqueline Reid, was so mesmerizing that it was impossible to leave. It's the story of the most loathsome family you will ever meet--if you're lucky. They hate themselves, each other, the world, the universe...and into all this stumbles Shelley (Kerry Morrigan), girlfriend of Vince (Malcolm Sharbutt), son to Tilden (Paul Ford), grandson to Halie (Colleen McClure) and Dodge (John Hardman). As these folks ravage each other, the actors involved give the best performances of their careers." --Barry Gaines, ABQ Journal, in his summary of the year's best shows

"An excellent production of Buried Child just opened last week a the Cell Theatre and the cast, under the accomplished direction of Jacqueline Reid, milks Shepard's bent sense of humor at every turn. Paul Ford as Tilden brings an enormous amount of subtlety to what is probably the play's most difficult role....The other standout is Tricklocker Kerry Morrigan as Shelley. A stranger to the family, Shelley...the la-la rabbit fur princess, gets a lot of the play's funniest lines, and the night I saw the performance Morrigan nailed all of them. She's by turns manic, terrified and, finally, utterly spent as she passes in and out of this familial house of horrors....Go see it. It might give you a whole new appreciation for your own dysfunctional family." --Steven Robert Allen, Weekly Alibi

"The Cell Theatre, an up-and-coming creative Downtown hotbed, is presenting an excellent night of drama. The play Buried Child by Sam Shepard won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1979 and is still fresh and haunting 23 years later....This Buried Child is a highly satisfying evening at the theater and The Cell has certainly raised the bar for other theaters in town....Ford's Tilden is a semester's worth of acting classes in one evening. Morrigan is so electric as Shelly, I wanted to watch her the whole time she was onstage. Hardman's Dodge was his best character work I've witnessed. Sharbutt has proved he is a key player in this taxing role.....The Cell Theatre and its in-house company FUSION certainly live up to their mission stated as "rooted in conviction that theatrical arts nourish and renew community through the dialogue expressed in storytelling," and their dedication to professionalism." --Rafael Gallegos, Daily Lobo

Direction: Brad Gromelski
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Tony: Matthew Andrade
Donald: Ed Chavez
Grandpa: Jamie Deuel
Gay: Leslee Filusch
Mr. De Pinna: Mark Guest
Henderson: John Hardman
Mrs. Kirby: Catherine Haun
Alice: Emily Lark Hermansen
Boris: Chris Payne
G-Man: Ron Phillips
Paul: Vernon Poitras
Rheba: Natalie Rose
Ed: Paul Schwendimann
Mr. Kirby: William Sterchi
Penny: Laurie Thomas
Essie: Julia Thudium-Cozzone
Dixie: Florence Tonissi

Reviews

Cat On a Hot Tin Roof
by Tennessee Williams

presented May 9-June 2, 2002

Direction: Laurie Thomas
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Big Daddy: Paul Blott
Big Momma: Robin Goodhue
Maggie: Jacqueline Reid
Brick: Joe Pesce
Mae: Kristin de la O
Gooper: Tom Schuch
The Reverend Tooker: Alan Hudson
Doc Baugh: Frank Melcori
No-Necked Monsters:
   Dixie: Ellen Herschel
   Sonny: Levi Shaw-Faber

Reviews

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Cell Theatre in May was a finely wrought, thoughtful interpretation of Tennessee Williams' long, dark classic. Laurie Thomas as director was able to get her hands around this sprawling play--an accomplishment in itself. Standouts in the cast included Robin Goodhue as Big Mama, and Paul Blott as Big Daddy. None of Burl Ives' false cheeriness in this Big Daddy. Blott's take was as a gaunt, used-up man who has seen everything and believes in nothing...." --Ann L. Ryan, ABQ Journal, in her review of the year's best theatre.

"Albuquerque's newest professional theater company presented an evening of powerful drama and surprising staging, breathing life into Tennessee Williams' American dramatic classic.... And unlike the Broadway and film versions, director Laurie Thomas uses Williams' own 1974 rewrite of the play's conclusion, refusing to succumb to a happy ending. The characters are left in their own uncertainty and the audience left to ponder a first-rate production of a true American classic."
--Kelly Koepke, Crosswinds Weekly

"An incredible cast has been assembled for this Cell Theatre production....The prize of the night, though, goes to Paul Blott as the cancerous, cantankerous Big Daddy. In a lot of ways, his is the key role of the play, and Blott pulls it off perfectly. He's gruff. He's mean. He's funny....Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is classic American theater, and this team really nails it."
--Steven Robert Allen, Weekly Alibi

Closer
by Patrick Marber

presented February 13-March 9, 2002

Direction: Jim Graebner
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Alice: Natalie Palan
Dan: Joe Pesce
Anna: Jacqueline Reid
Larry: William Sterchi

Reviews

"If you haven't seen the current show at the Cell Theatre, get off your lazy bum and check it out." --Steven Robert Allen, The Weekly Alibi