Calista Flockhart and Christian Slater on returning to the stage after 20 years in 'Curse of the Starving Class'

The screen stars, both with rich histories in theatre, take on a pair of celebrated playwright Sam Shepard’s most dynamic leading roles off Broadway.

“To get the chance to bring these characters to life was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” said Christian Slater (Mr. Robot), one star of Curse of the Starving Class, the late Sam Shepard’s 1970s epic that feels as relevant as ever. “The play symbolizes humanity’s fractured relationship with nature, land, and sustenance, and it’s all happening right now before our eyes,” added Slater’s co-star Calista Flockhart (Ally McBeal).

Slater and Flockhart play Weston and Ella Tate, a married couple living in a decaying house with diminishing resources. While substance abuse issues keep them largely apart, we learn they are separately trying to sell their home to remedy financial instability. Their troubled son, Wesley (Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman), resists, while their daughter, Emma (Stella Marcus), wants to escape.

Known more widely for their award-winning screen careers, Slater and Flockhart have deep roots in theatre — but Curse of the Starving Class marks at least two decades since they’ve appeared on stage. Fresh off opening night of The New Group's Off-Broadway production at the Pershing Square Signature Center, New York Theatre Guide spoke with Slater and Flockhart about why Curse of the Starving Class got them back to performing live.

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What about these roles interested you in coming back to the stage?

Christian Slater: I read the play and immediately fell in love with it. Sam Shepard has an extraordinarily poetic way of writing these kinds of characters and telling these sorts of stories. And to work with a company like The New Group and [director] Scott Elliott was a thrill; to work with Calista was a thrill. It’s Cooper Hoffman’s first time on stage, so to be a part of that experience with him is very exciting.

Calista Flockhart: In the Tate family, there is abuse, there’s neglect, there’s complete emotional disconnection. Mental health awareness is growing now, and I find the play’s exploration of how trauma passes from one generation to the next to feel particularly poignant.

I was surprised this play debuted in the 1970s. The themes feel so current.

Slater: So much of the state of affairs we’re in right now are just as relevant as they were in the ’70s. Sam was seeing a lot of the same things going on then that are happening now. It was a big deal then and it just continues to have escalated to where we are today, which is probably even more frightening.

There’s a scene late in the play when Ella walks into the family kitchen, Weston is cooking eggs, and there’s a live sheep center stage. It’s the first time when Ella and Weston really interact. This stood out as a turning point to me.

Slater: It’s definitely a turning point. And it shows you, as much dysfunction as there is in that relationship, there is still a connection. There was an initial connection that brought them together. And [in] that scene, as twisty and as many turns as it takes, you do get to see that there is a genuine feeling of chemistry between these two people, and that’s what started this whole thing.

Flockhart: While we’re talking about how Ella and Weston don’t see each other until the end of the play, for Ella, who is a victim of someone who has a serious alcohol problem, there’s emotional neglect and a loss of trust. And I’m sure she feels isolated and has a lot of stress and anxiety and probably depression.

What startles me about that scene and what I find heartbreaking is that in the end, she’s exhausted. It’s such a codependent relationship, and she’s right back in it because he’s really all she has.

New Group artistic director Scott Elliott is a premier interpreter of Shepard’s works. What have you learned under his guidance?

Slater: Scott was there with Sam Shepard working on his final productions. He knew Sam extraordinarily well, knew how he saw things and the kind of creator he was. We couldn’t have had a better person at the helm of this show.

And we’re still able to interpret it in our own ways, step outside our comfort zones, and make some of our own choices. Scott was very particular about some of the things he wanted to do with some of the moments in the play, and it was exciting to be a part of that.

Flockhart: It’s amazing that Scott has been able to keep [the New Group] alive for 30 years with everything going on in the world, with the Covid pandemic. And here he is surviving and producing; The New Group is such an important part of the New York community.

Indeed. And the 42nd Street area remains bustling with Off-Broadway productions.

Slater: I actually grew up across the street in the Manhattan Plaza [apartment building for artists]. And back then, that was truly "theatre row" on 42nd Street. It was so rich with all those theatres and [...] all the independent productions that were happening. I remember when I was a 15, 16-year-old kid, every theatre was full and packed with creativity and new writers and people working together to tell the stories of the times.

Flockhart: It’s such a privilege to work off Broadway. You get to be a little more experimental, you get to take more risks, you get to work with new playwrights and have a voice. So, like Christian says, it’s a vital place, an important place for our community.

Christian, your last stage appearance was in The Glass Menagerie in 2005 opposite Jessica Lange, Shepard’s longtime partner. That connection must be meaningful for you.

Slater: Getting to work with Jessica Lange was great. She obviously was heavily involved with Sam, and they had a beautiful relationship. She came and saw our opening night, and she was so effusive and thrilled with the production and all the performances. And that made it all feel very, very sweet and wonderful because I loved working with her. And her opinion obviously means the world to me.

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Photo credit: Calista Flockhart and Christian Slater in Curse of the Starving Class off Broadway. (Photos by Monique Carboni)