| Picnic | |
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| Written by | William Inge |
| Characters | Hal Carter Madge Owens Alan Seymour Millie Owens |
| Date of Premiere | February 19,1953 |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Setting | A small Kansas town. |
Picnic is a 1953 play by William Inge. It won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was adapted for film in 1955. The play premiered at the Music Box Theatre, Broadway on 19 February, 1953 in a production by The Theatre Guild, directed by Joshua Logan and designed by Jo Mielziner. The cast included Ralph Meeker, Eileen Heckart, Arthur O'Connell, Janice Rule, Reta Shaw, Kim Stanley and Paul Newman in his Broadway debut. The production won the Tony Award for Best Director for Logan and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play of the season. It ran for 477 performances. The play was Paul Newman's Broadway debut. An unknown at the time, Newman campaigned heavily for the leading role of Hal but director Joshua Logan did not think Newman was physically large enough to convey the lead character's athletic attributes. As a result, Ralph Meeker was given the role of Hal opposite Janice Rule as Madge. Newman played Hal's former college room mate Alan Seymour while understudying the role of Hal and eventually took over the lead role. The University of Kansas is currently creating an operatic version of the play, which will premiere in spring 2008.
Cast
The original cast for the 1953 Music Box Theatre production is as follows (in order of appearance):
- Ruth McDevitt - Helen Potts
- Ralph Meeker - Hal Carter
- Kim Stanley - Millie Owens
- Morris Miller - Bomber
- Janice Rule - Madge Owens
- Peggy Concklin - Flo Owens
- Eileen Heckart - Rosemary Sydney
- Paul Newman - Alan Seymour
- Reta Shaw - Irma Kronkite
- Elizabeth Wilson - Christine Schoenwalder
- Arthur O'Connell - Howard Bevans
Play Summary
The play begins with Hal arriving in a small Southern town to visit Alan, his old college friend. Hal is hoping to secure a steady job working for Alan's father, but his rough manners and good looks quickly get him into trouble. He becomes attracted to Alan's fiancee Madge, the prettiest girl in town, and is likewise adored by Millie, Madge's younger sister and Rosemary, a teacher who rents a room from their mother. In the end, Madge can not resist her attraction to Hal. She breaks off her engagement with Alan and the two leave town, intending to marry.
