A
play by
William Inge that deals with
forbidden love (or
lust, depending on your
perspective),
gender roles, and the
illusion of
free will. The entire play takes place in the backyards of two houses in
Kansas during
Labor Day weekend, 1956, when the small town is hosting a picnic. One is the home of Helen Potts, a
spinster who takes care of her rude yet helpless
mother, who stopped her from marrying her true
love, and the other is the home of Florence Owens, whose
husband left her with two children, Millie (a
tomboy) and Madge (a
beauty). Their neat little world is thrown into
chaos with the arrival of Hal Carter, a mischievous rascal who upsets the orderly, low-key town with his false stories and macho behavior. Particularly influenced is Madge, whose longtime relationship with the
banal Alan Seymour is put into question.
The play won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. The play opened that same year at the Music Box Theater in New York City. Today “Picnic” is a common play to be performed by amateur theater groups, such as high schools and community playhouses.