Review of Picnic, a play by William Inge
...h was set in rural America in the early 1950s, captured the ever-prevalent theme of the “American Dream,” especially of the less sophisticated regions of the country. The Owens sisters each played their parts in this theme very realistically, with their concerns about life beyond childhood and the boundaries of their environment. Their mother gave the cautious, protective opposition to the sisters’ boldness, and I noticed that all of her scenes involved her in or very close to the porch of her house. This use of the house builds upon her “stay-at-home” attitude that she developed from a seemingly rocky and marriage. Similarly, having someone pretend to be Mrs. Potts’ mother calling from the 2nd floor of the other house gave a feeling that Mrs. Potts was similarly tied to her home and her past. In contrast to the resident families of the houses on stage, the other characters, with their constant re-appearances on stage, gave feelings of fleeting, faster moving lives. Most poignantly, Hal Carter, who spent a lot of time jumping off of Mrs. Potts’ stairs and jumping around on the swing, made the audience feel his c...