Picnic

Tickets and Information

This Is No Picnic
I saw Picnic in previews through the Gold Club from TheaterMania.(which I recommend you join if you attend a lot of plays as I do). I was glad I saw it with a complimentary ticket. Picnic is a simple play with a simple plot. The dialog is pretty uninspiring with bursts of mirth. Basically it is about a country girl who is smitten with a handy man hunk who is a drifter. It goes on and on with family insight interjected with a side bar romance between a lonely aging woman and her marriage dodging beau. This part of the play turned out to be much more interesting and entertaining than the main story. Maggie Grace does an OK job as the beautiful Madge but her performance in just OK. I really don't like to give a bad review of an actor's ability but Sebastian Stan's performance as Hal the drifter was appalling. He has the physique of an Adonis but the acting talent of Ozzie Osborn. Dude, keep your shirt off and stick to modeling. (sorry Sebastian, but it was pretty dreadful). It is a joy to see Ellen Burstyn again on Broadway. She and Mare Winningham were marvelous and a big round of applause goes to Madeline Martin in her Broadway debut as Madge's kid sister Millie. The real show stealers of this dull play are the wonderful Elizabeth Marvel and Reed Birney as the lonely lovers who will never marry as far as Howard (Reed Birney) is concerned and the inner turmoil this presents to Rosemary (Elizabeth Marvel who is Marvel-ous!) The play itself was written in 1953 and it shows. The dialog is trite and the story is rather droll. If you really like old, quaint, shows that do nothing to stimulate you this show is for you. For. all others there are a lot of better (and worse) ones out there--- but think twice.

Reviewed by squanboy on Wednesday, Jan 30th, 2013