Little Theatre's 'Picnic' Brings New Depth to a Tense Drama

Little Theatre of Alexandria's production of "Picnic" is a vivid example of how the combination of meticulous casting and a director with a keen eye for the subject matter can substantially improve a play.

And that's even if the play in question won the Pulitzer Prize for drama, which "Picnic" did in 1953. Playwright William Inge, who was born in Kansas, created characters rooted in mid-century, Midwestern values, often drenched in desperation. Director Howard Vincent Kurtz and his finely tuned cast of 12 maintain that period atmosphere of small-town Kansas, while adding edgy depth and dimension that reinvigorates the story.

Inge's world is inhabited by repressed and lonely women who look for relief or release from the occasional male who unwittingly strays into their comfort zone. It's probably tempting for a director to stay firmly within the dramatic conventions of the early 1950s, especially as Inge's ladies are thinly written and stereotypical. Local productions usually fail to go much beyond that, leaving the drama feeling dated. But here, Inge's characters, female and male, are plumped up with nuance and grit, making them and their stories much more interesting.

It's Labor Day, and a small Kansas town is preparing for its annual picnic. Lonely Helen Potts (Nancy Thompson) has hired a drifter named Hal Carter (Brian Razzino) to do some odd jobs -- and to give her something to enjoy watching. Carter, with virile charm, ignites a variety of fires within several of the play's female characters. That's especially true for the lovely, 19-year-old neighbor, Madge Owens (Elizabeth Keith), who is reconciling herself to a quiet life with earnest but unexciting beau Alan Seymour (Jeffrey Clarke).

Hal's bare-chested presence also sends aging schoolteacher Rosemary Sydney (Rebecca Lenehan) over the edge with desperation to capture a man, even if it has to be the hapless, but happily single, businessman Howard Bevans (Charles Palmer). Madge's younger sister, Millie (Anna Penniman), meanwhile, is a brainy tomboy who would like to be more like her feminine sister. The other women we meet are older and without male companionship. In Inge's world, a woman's chance for happiness comes and goes in a flash and is dependent on a man. As Flo Owens (Jan Gaskins) tells her daughter Madge: "A pretty girl doesn't have long. Next year you'll be 20, then 21, then 40."

Each actor physically embodies the role perfectly. Kurtz has them operating on two tracks simultaneously. Dialogue is calm and often understated, but the body language tells another story.

Razzino's Hal is polite and soft-spoken, but his tightly coiled bearing radiates dangerous excitement. Likewise, Keith's graceful Madge retains outward virginal charm, but when it's combined with languid, sensuous movement, the girl's barely suppressed passions are revealed. When Madge and Hal share a seemingly innocent dance, the sexual tension is so thick we easily grasp that other characters, notably Palmer's Bevans, will lose control over their desires.

Even Flo Owens seems to have a secret inner life, as expressed in Gaskins's layered performance. Gaskins meticulously colors her comments with a rueful significance, leading to the inescapable impression that she fears her older daughter will repeat a mistake that Flo herself had made. In Inge's construct, security means entirely different things to young Madge and the middle-aged Rosemary. One sees it as liberation, the other as restriction. As a series of skillfully played small moments lead to life-changing resolutions, Kurtz's pacing and energy are fluidly dynamic to capture the sense of reality.

Kurtz also designed the set, a stunningly visual celebration of Midwestern Americana. Three-dimensional and solid, the two homes and the shared back yard in which these lives transform is wonderful eye candy. The high production values of this show are enhanced by beautifully complex lighting from Ken and Patti Crowley and an evocative sound design from Alan Wray that makes the Kansas countryside come alive.

"Picnic" continues through Oct 11 at Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe St., Alexandria. Showtime Wednesdays through Saturdays is 8 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. For tickets or information, call the box office at 703-683-0496 or visithttp://www.TheLittleTheatre.com.