Kennedy's Children

by Robert Patrick

This is an evocative drama of American idealism and the tragic fallout from the euphoria of the 1960s. Five lost souls are gathered in a bar, Valentine's Day, 1974: Wanda, a secretary-turned-schoolteacher, keeping John Kennedy's memory alive despite the inevitable slurs; Sparger, an actor grown bitter and cynical as New York's vital underground theatre movement becomes a commercial wasteland; Rona, a political activist who sees the movement collapsing from self-indulgence and apathy; Mark, a Vie

Genres: Plays, Drama, Fiction, Theatre

58 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Robert Patrick was an American playwright, poet, lyricist, and short-story writer and novelist. He was the author of over 60 published plays.

Robert Patrick on Wikipedia

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[David Swatling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this play on Broadway in 1975, a year after moving to NYC. I’ve read it countless times and it’s power has never faded from memory. Playwright Robert Patrick passed away yesterday, on Shakespeare’s birthday. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd play that is constructed of overlapping monologues with no interactions among the characters except the silent bartender who refreshes everyone's alcohol. It's a period piece that basically sums up the disillusionment this group of people feel about the previous decade, the 1960s, and the major events that shaped their current circumstances now in the 1970s.

I can't imagine being able to sit through this in the theater without wanting to pass away from boredom though because this is nothing but talking heads...

[Betsie Bush · Rating 3 out of 5]

2020 Read Harder challenge - Play by a queer author

[noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful meditation on '60s nyc -- desire, nostalgia, being swept along by social forces larger than ourselves. amazing short little read.

[Robert Kapeller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strangers in a bar discussing--not with each other, or with anyone necessarily--their experiences during the turbulent 60s. Their opinions contradict each other, but the ongoing stories of each character is truly compelling. I would love to hear this piece performed. Some of Starger's drunken monologues were a bit difficult to understand, but I'd love to crack them down and understand them.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah . . . no. I wanted to like this play a lot. And there are a couple of monologues that do hit it out of the park. But I direct plays for a living, and I can't even imagine what it must have been like to sit through this in 1975. I also wonder what has happened to it since --- because if the characters weren't all that thrilled with the 70s, what did they make of the Reagan years?