The Kentucky Cycle
Deeply flawed and frustratingly uneven, Schenkkan’s work might be easy to dismiss as tortured white liberal guilt run amok. But especially in this calm, unflinchingly honest Infamous Commonwealth Theatre production, The Kentucky Cycle offers considerable theatrical ingenuity and several disquieting truths. Its insistence that audiences rethink American mythology comes at an opportune time. As the Bush administration gears up to enforce the presence of “democracy” wherever it chooses, it’s useful to remember our nation’s shadowy, even ignoble practices as well as its lofty ideals.
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For all its flaws, The Kentucky Cycle still manages to twist the gut with its depiction of cruelty, ambition, and self-destructiveness. Schenkkan may turn the grays of life into black and white, but the horrifying underlying truths of how this country was formed are still visible. The lion’s share of the credit for this goes to Infamous Commonwealth directors Jason Kae and Genevieve Thompson and their committed cast: they supply the emotional nuance and moral ambivalence that Schenkkan omits. Shrewdly underplaying the turgid script, the actors focus on the dynamic relations among the characters rather than facile displays of emotion. But when the story requires emotional extremes, they deliver the goods. Maintaining their candor and honesty over six arduous hours, they make it easy to believe in this overwrought saga–or at least to wait without too much discomfort for the trying passages to be over. This production makes Schenkkan’s relentless depiction of the worst of the American character ring disturbingly true.
Price: $18, $30 for both programs
