It’s Not a Simple “Picnic” at Prospect
By Summer Krafft
Prospect Theater Project’s current production of Picnic by William Inge perpetuated out dated stereotypes of gender roles and implied, yet again, that a woman’s worth lies in how pleasing men find her, particularly how pretty she is and how well she can marry. This is particularly true in the case of the two main characters, Madge and Hal. However, it is important to note that this is an issue of the script, written in 1953 and not entirely untrue of the era, but it was still disturbing for me to see as a young female viewer in 2016 at what I consider to be one of the valley’s more cutting edge theaters. Highlights of the production include the off-beat younger sister, Millie, who began to break the mold of expectations for females, played charmingly by Marlene Arellano, though I think the production could have afforded to give her more of a forefront in stage direction as the beacon of hope for future generations of women. Likewise, real-life couple Joel Morrison and Laura Dickinson-Turner had a beautiful on-stage dynamic, playing their first roles opposite each other as the couple of Howard and Rosemary. This Picnic was a little complicated for me as a viewer, but is undeniably worth seeing to decide for yourself.
Picnic continues at Prospect theater Project September 29th, 30th, and October 1st at 8p.m. and October 2nd at 2p.m. with a talk back following the show.
