One generation to the next

Robert Henry Becker Arizona Daily Wildcat James Talbert Winston (Mark Rogers) and Franklin Biggs (Warren Jackson) pour drinks and Joshua Rowen (Adam Slusser) keeps watch, as they start discussing their future plans. The Kentucky Cycle is contemporary American Pulitzer prize winning drama that details 200 years of social and historical changes in Kentucky.

The Arizona Repertory Company is performing the two-part play from now until Dec. 7 in Marroney Theater. The story takes place in Kentucky between 1775 and 1975, with part one ending in 1861. Written by Robert Schenkkan, the story follows several generations of the Rowen family, adding two other family lines, the Talberts and the Biggs, as the story progresses. Due to the complexity of the relationships between characters, the program is even equipped with a genealogical chart for each family.

The story, although a bit of a chaotic mess, remains interesting. It begins with Michael Rowen, a man who kills an innocent victim, stealing a musical necklace, which remains an element throughout the performance. He takes some Cherokee land, paying for it with weaponry that the tribe needs for protection and war. The Cherokee willingly give him what he pays for, as well as one of their women, Morning Star, who unwillingly becomes his wife. She soon bears him a son, Patrick Rowen, who ends up killing his father years later because of the way Patrick and his Cherokee mother have been treated all their lives.

The father-son relationships in the family carry on to each of the following generations, as does the underlying theme of property ownership. Although the story ends up resembling a subplot in "Days of Our Lives," the theater department does some interesting things with the performance. One of the most effective techniques involves the characters not involved in the scene being performed sitting on either side of the stage as onlookers to the development of their respective families. By becoming a part of the audience, these characters imply that they actually know what their families have gone through in the past, making the real audience hope they remember, so as to not repeat it. For example, each generation of sons is disrespected by their fathers. In their childhoods, the sons feel rejected by their own families, only to grow up doing the same thing to the next generation.

Although the amount of violent death, regardless of the motives, is assumed to be standard to the time period, it is no less shocking to watch. The acting is impressive, although stereotypes of American Indians, slaves, immigrants and the South during the 1800s blatantly appear throughout the performance. For a play like this one, breaking the stereotypes might only create more confusion, although the complexity is what makes the play worth watching. Regardless, being stuck to your seat is a good situation in this case.

For more information on performances, call the Fine Arts Box Office at 621-1162.