(By Colin Dabkowski) Out of all the tragic myths of American life – and there are, sadly, plenty to choose from – that of the perfect nuclear family has churned out perhaps the most dramatic material. The peculiarly American delusion that such a thing as a perfect nuclear family exists, or once did, has provided fodder to countless artists working in the popular media. Perhaps the most persistent miner of this notion is Sam Shepard, whose play “Buried Child” explores the disintegration of both the actual American nuclear family, such as it ever was, and of the very idea of it.
