By Rich Copley
Herald-leader cultural critic
Artists have mined Eastern Kentucky for drama for decades, often shedding light on the threadbare lives of many of Appalachia’s residents.
That appears to be the case in the first scene of Rebecca Basham’s Lot’s Daughters, set in 1944. When Waincey Cobb tells his sister Gertie he enlisted in the Navy because he would be paid $21 a month, she protests, “Ain’t nobody going to pay you $21 a month for nothing . . . it seems sinful to have that much.”
Sin, or the perception of sin, is one of the major themes of the play. Basham’s twist is the lesbian love story at the center of this heartbreaking drama. 
The latest production by ActOut Theatre Group, the play centers on the couple, Gertie and Susannah, who fall in love and then struggle to reconcile their feelings with the small town they live in, ruled by a fire and brimstone preacher and his busybody wife.
The production has obvious limitations of a low budget theater, such as minimal sets and spotty sound. But after quickly forgiving those, we see first-time director Marc Roland has a really fine show that gets the 2007 year in Lexington Theatre off to a great start. It seems Roland was familiar with that old adage that 90 percent of directing is casting, as he has assembled an outstanding ensemble.
In the leads, he has established Lexington talent Rachel Rogers as Susannah and relative newcomer Tara Adkins as Gertie (Photo, above, courtesy of ActOut). They have chemistry and creativity going for them, particularly Rogers, who makes a lot of small moments matter.
The primary complaint about each actor would be their passion sometimes gets the best of them. Between sobbing and efforts to replicate Appalachian accents, their performances occasionally teeter on incoherency. There are moments you know Basham wrote some critical lines that are vanishing with the affectations.
Basham has packed a lot in her play. In addition to homosexuality, she addresses issues of theology, patriarchy, poverty and sexual abuse. That makes for a three-hour night of theater, though it rarely drags. It’s really quite compelling, even though Basham blatantly telegraphs quite a few outcomes in her script. Though she’s mining familiar territory, Lot’s Daughters feels unique, and is a must for fans of Kentucky theater and literature.
~ The production has been dedicated to Michael Thompson, a local actor and co-founder of Moveable Fest, who died Jan. 1. The play is a fine tribute to the man, who had participated in all previous ActOut productions.
~ Lot’s Daughters continues at 2 and 8 p.m. Jan. 6 and 13, 8 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Downtown Arts Center, 141 E. Main St. Tickets are $15, available by calling (859) 225-0370, or through lexarts.tix.com.
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