Picnic
Stage Door Players
through February 18, 2018

Come back in time to the 1950’s in rural Kansas in a small town where author William Inge sets this work about love sought, love found and love lost. The play premiered in 1953 and won the Pulitzer for best drama. And to this day we can sort of relate to what was going on.

Two older single ladies live next door to each other. Helen Potts (Kara Cantrell) has taken in a drifter named Hal (Blake Burgess) who has come to the town to see if he could hook up with an old buddy, Alan (J D Myers) and get somewhere in life. Ms. Potts’ neighbor is Flo Owens (Vickie Ellis Gray) who sees herself as an older widow with two daughters who she dearly wishes to have a better life than hers has been.

The daughters are Millie (Shelby Folks) and her older sister, Madge (Shannon McCarren). The folks are all getting gussied up to attend the Labor Day picnic, when Hal arrives. He has eyes for one of the girls, and one of the girls has eyes for Alan, and Mom isn’t a happy camper about any of this. She just wants them to “marry well” and the story is sewn around that theme.

A cast of 11 players do a fine job under the direction of Tess Malis Kincaid. As you go into the second act, you will try to figure out who may run off with whom and where anybody is going. Safe to say, that life is what happens while you wait for your plans to work out.

A neat set and costumes work to take us back in time. Stage Door Players in easy to get to in Dunwoody with free parking and good seating. More info at StageDoorPlayers.net