SOURCE: Brustein, Robert. “Plays for the Parch.” New Republic 212, no. 1 (2 January 1995): 28.

In the following excerpt, Brustein offers a mixed assessment of Simpatico, faulting the play for its “manipulated suspense.”

Sam Shepard's new play, Simpatico, which he also directed (at the New York Public Theater), has taken as many critical lumps as his last play, States of Shock. Viewed as an overarching dramatic work, Simpatico probably deserves a few knocks, but I found it an absorbing evening nevertheless, Shepard's best since Buried Child—not because of the cryptic writing, which is strong in individual scenes but ultimately too swamped by its own mysteries. I admired it largely for its acting values. Shepard's directorial technique has advanced considerably in confidence and precision since he last staged A Lie of the Mind. He's a whiz now with scene work: there isn't a slack moment in the play. But, as in Lie...