Melissa Beckwith stars in Kim Carney’s “Katherine” at Theatre Nova.

Kim Carney’s new play, Katherine, now having its world premiere at Ann Arbor’s Theatre Nova, has a wholly apt tagline: “Herstory repeats itself.”

The one-woman show highlights five generations of women within one family. Thanks to an established tradition of naming the first-born daughter Katherine, we glimpse the carriers of that name (all played by Melissa Beckwith) over the course of about a century. Beginning with a farmer’s wife who addresses God one night in a barn, the play goes on to feature a single mother of five who’s desperate to find work during the Depression; a snarky, bored, alcoholic housewife who’d prefer a male therapist; an addict-turned-motivational speaker who finds God in a school community’s response to a natural disaster; and a contemporary single businesswoman who stands at a personal and professional crossroads.

The 90 minute play, directed by David Wolber, is structured in five scenes, with minimal props and nifty transitions that show us Beckwith, in silhouette behind a screen, transforming into the next Katherine. READ THE REST HERE