In this review o/True West's Broadway debut, Rich offers a mixed assessment of the play, praising Shepard's text yet lamenting the shortcomings of this particular production.

Some day, when the Warring parties get around to writing their memoirs, we may actually discover who killed True West, the Sam Shepard play that finally opened at the Public Theater last night. As the press has already reported, this failure is an orphan. Robert Woodruff, the nominal director, left the play in previews and disowned the production. Mr. Shepard has also disowned the production, although he has not ventured from California to see it. The producer Joseph Papp, meanwhile, has been left, holding the bag. New Year's will be, here shortly, and one can only hope that these talented men will forgive and forget.

At least their battle has been fought for a worthwhile cause. True West seems to...