1960s era ‘Picnic’ carries meaning in today’s society

1960s era ‘Picnic’ carries
meaning in today’s society
Marlboro High School
students will stage
William Inge play
BY LARRY RAMER
Staff Writer

MARLBORO — People can be biased in their views of pretty girls.

That is one of the themes of "Picnic," said Alison Bender, who is directing Marlboro High School’s production of the William Inge play.

"Picnic" will be presented at Marlboro High School, Route 79, from Nov. 20-22 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $6 for adults; $4 for students and senior citizens; and $2 for children.

The play, which is set in a small Kansas town in the 1950s, highlights people’s biases in several areas, including class, gender and beauty, Bender said.

For example, the problems of a character named Madge, a pretty girl in her late teens, seem to go unnoticed by other people in the town.

"Everyone loves Madge because she is so beautiful, but they don’t pay attention to the fact that she hardly graduated from high school and is doing nothing with her life," Bender said.

Alisa Lowy, who plays Madge, said the character is misunderstood by the people around her.

"Madge is sick of being pretty, she wants to be more than that. She wants to get out of this town," Lowy said of her character.

"Madge has big dreams. She’s uncomfortable associating with her wealthy boyfriend and his aristocratic friends," she added.

Another major character in "Picnic" is the Drifter, Hal Carter, played by Jared Roberts.

The people in the town are also biased against Carter, Bender said.

"Nobody likes the drifter because he’s impoverished and homeless," the director said.

"Carter is a good-looking, muscular guy who realizes, after he’s spent some time in Hollywood that he doesn’t want to drift around anymore, he wants to settle down. But he’s created a life where he can’t do that," Roberts said.

In the play, Carter steals the heart of Madge, Bender revealed.

Other key characters in the play are Millie Owens (Stephanie Sherman), Madge’s less pretty, intelligent, jealous sister; Howard Bevans (Joseph Merlo), a bachelor who doesn’t want to get married; and Rosemary Sydney (Michelle Blum), Howard’s girlfriend, who wants Howard to be more committed to her.

"Even though the play was written in the 1960s and takes place in the 1950s, the way people prejudge others is some­thing that still happens today and people need to see that this is still going on and the ramifications that can happen from that," Bender said.