My overall impression
I love reading Sam Shepard but rarely hear or see him done as well as I hear it on the page. Both Director and Actors found the voices of these characters clearly and in a very compelling way. It’s hard to imagine a reality where you can both follow a human story and accept a Lobster Man serving Twinkies upon request. This young ensemble made it happen. It’s also very hard to straddle the real and physical danger of Shepard without keeping the audience out of the story and worried about the actors’ safety. It completely worked and kept me leaning forward in anticipation the entire time.
I saw the piece because the Director asked my friends and I to attend personally, right before the preview started, in the Fringe Central tent. Although I applaud this outreach and am very grateful that I saw it because of this encounter, I hope he won’t need to do this again. “Cowboy Mouth” is an extraordinary endeavor of artists who clearly can dig the depths of Sam Shepard for a new audience.