On February 18, I went to see the Emmanuel College Theater Production of Buried Child. The play consists of three acts. It takes place in a farmhouse in Illinois. It’s centered around a struggling family falling apart—as I could see. The family consists of Tilden, his aggressive sister Bradley, their parents Dodge and Halie, Halie and Tilden’s son Vince, and Vince’s girlfriend Shelly. It also features Halie’s boyfriend, minister Father Dewis. The story begins with Halie and Dodge discussing a child named Ansel, whom they lost to homicide. It is later revealed that Dodge is the one who murdered Ansel. Then, Tilden brings in crops from the backyard, and Halie prepares to go somewhere and asks him to look after Dodge. Then, Vince and Shelly arrive and try to get Dodge and Tilden to remember who he is. Then, Vince goes out to get Dodge a drink while Shelly stays with Tilden and Dodge. Soon, Bradley appears and begins to harass Shelly. After a while, Halie returns with Father Dewis, and they start arguing with Bradley until Shelly steps in as well. Then, unexpectedly, Vince returns trying to throw bottles at the people in the house, and even decides to stay at the house. Shelly and Father Lewis end up leaving the house while Halie goes upstairs. Unfortunately, Dodge ends up dying as Tilden brings in a corpse to the house. I’m guessing this was the corpse of Ansel.
My favorite character was Tilden’s son, Vince. The person who played him was an outstanding actor and showcased a real character change between Acts II and III. He began as a kind person hoping to see his family and was willing to run an errand for his grandfather and unexpectedly returned as a crazy guy who ended up trying to injure the ones he loved. I have to admit his character transformation was so unexpected. But, now that I think about it, it made me want to learn more about this story and its meaning. It made me wonder why Dodge killed Ansel in the first place. Why was Halie cheating on her husband? How did Tilden and Dodge not remember Vince in the first place?