play at Clayes Arts
I watched the play at Clayes Arts performing center at California State University on December 8, 2019, at 2-4p.m. Directed by Eve Himmelheber, the play scene was set in Kansas, a small town. “Picnic” describes the lives of ordinary Americans and their experiences in the everyday world. “Picnic” was first performed in 1953, before it was adapted into the film in the year 1955. One cannot understand “Picnic” unless they know it was written as part of a three-act play series. From the beginning to the end, the play grips the attention of its audience, as they giggle together with the characters over the “swaggery” Hal. “Picnic” adequately represents the ideologies and way of life in the mid-century American society-society restricted by gender, geography, and society’s conventions.
The play introduces to Mrs. Flora, a widow, who runs a boarding house with the help of her two daughters, Millie and Madge. A stranger is soon seen passing through, heading to the neighbor’s house. When Hal Carter wonders along the houses with his manly features, women cannot help turning heads to his direction. The typical male role of Hal is what made this performance outstanding for me. Hal is vibrant, energetic, quite vulnerable, and his relationship with Madge makes them exquisite. I understood and resonated with how Hal, a young charming, and likable man, could also be troubled, wounded, and dejected. With his vulnerable state, Hal effectively administered Inge’s thematic concerns. It was surprising to find that despite his handsomeness, the community is quite “hostile” towards him. Perhaps this is why Madge’s heart softens towards him. At this moment, we could not know whether Madge felt desire or empathy towards Hal. Hal soon fell for Madge, and in a heated argument with Alan, his college friend, and Madge’s supposed boyfriend, Alan threatened to have Hal arrested. Hal then confessed his love to Madge, and together, they leave Kansas.
Women characters in this production were adequately equipped for their performance. In their various roles, the women passed on Inge’s intended message, that they look pretty, with their dresses and their hair, just as they needed to look at the time. It shows how, at the time, a girl’s bet was to get married to a rich man. Madge’s beauty is unmatched with that of her younger brainy sister, Millie, who detests her sister because “she is the pretty one,” while Madge envies her little sister for her smart brain. The play’s carefully designed set established a certain mood even before the play began. The representations of these two neighboring houses in Kansas for me symbolized feelings of confinement and despair, especially for the women. Even so, the interiors of the house represented a “homey” feeling for the characters. The scene work, coupled with the characters’ profound performative personas, made this play simple, yet insightful in very many dimensions. Madge’s costumes were deliberately chosen to depict her as exceptionally lovely, just as women of the time were expected to be.
The lighting of the scene sets the mood of the play right. In this play, I think that even though it allowed the audience to follow through the scene as it focused on the characters, it symbolized hope for this small town. The arguments, the passion, the kisses, the love and the betrayal in the scene were done so well that the audience were active participants in the play.
“Picnic” is an excellent way to understand society in America in the 1950s. With an aim to represent troubled souls trying to survive in a repressive culture, Inge’s play “Picnic” was definitely the best fit for this purpose.