Staff Reports
Coming up this week is this year’s fall play: Picnic, William Inge’s classic drama of love, loyalty, and loss of innocence in a small Kansas town.
There will be three performances, all at 7:30 p.m. in the Cathyann Roding Auditorium at BHS: Wednesday Nov. 20, Thursday Nov. 21, (no performance Friday, Nov. 20 due to the Homecoming Dance), and Saturday, Nov. 23.
Tickets are general admission, available at the door for just $5.
Picnic is a story of a charismatic young man who arrives in a small Kansas town, awakening the discontents and dormant longings of its residents. Not looking for anything more than a job, football-star-turned-drifter Hal Carter awakens the play’s other characters to what they really want, and inadvertently galvanizes them into action.
First performed on Broadway in 1953, William Inge’s Picnic was a prize-winner, collecting a Pulitzer Prize, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, and a Tony Award for the director, as well as launching the career of Paul Newman. It also became a major motion picture. It was made into a musical and an opera, and has been seen in many revivals – both live and on television – over the years.
“This is the classic story of a stranger coming to town and nothing is the same after that,” said Director Maria Ogren. “Even though it’s set in a distant place seven decades ago, everyone will recognize its characters. They are our friends and family — people we see every day. Some of us may even recognize ourselves.”
Cast, in order of appearance:
Alex Lenox as Hal Carter
Nadya Jones as Helen Potts
Shay Barrett as Millie Owens
Matthew Lenox as Bomber Gutzel
Connor Gilfeather as Spike McCullough
DJ Hooks as Chick Chisolm
Lillian Rank as Madge Owens
Penelope as Benson Flo Owens
Morgan Hackley as Rosemary Sydney
Jacob Shumway as Alan Seymour
Bella Gohar as Irma Kronkite
Italia Bruno as Christine Schoenwalder
Ginger Fitzpatrick as Ava Wilson
Jake Coveyduck as Howard Bevans
Jenna Medina as Old Mrs. Potts