IN A FRAUGHT NATIONAL MOMENT, A READING OF SAM SHEPARD’S PLAYS SHEDS LIGHT ON AMERICAN DREAMING.
BY: TAYLOR STOUT
Of the love stories, Cowboy Mouth drew me in the most due to the actors’ stage presences and chemistry. One (Christopher Martin) was a weathered man with slicked-back silvery hair, a gravelly and booming voice, and a Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned to reveal chest tattoos. The other (Stephee Bonifacio) was a young woman with curly, fire-colored hair and sparkling eyes, wearing a black shirt that said MOTHER on the front and FUCKER on the back. The man played Slim, and the woman played Cavale. Shepard’s script describes Slim as “a cat who looks like a coyote,” and Cavale as “a chick who looks like a crow.” It then notes: “They are both beat to shit.”