'Picnic' at Villagers Theatre

Although it may open on April Fool's Day, Villagers Theatre's production of "Picnic," by William Inge, is serious.

The play takes place on Labor Day weekend in 1953, in the joint backyards of two middle-aged widows who live on farms in Kansas. The one house belongs to Flo Owens, who lives there with her two maturing daughters, Madge and Millie, and a boarder who is a spinster school teacher. The other house belongs to Helen Potts, who lives with her elderly and invalid mother. Into this female atmosphere comes a young man named Hal Carter, whose animal vitality seriously upsets the entire group. Hal is a most interesting character, a child of parents who ignored him, self-conscious of his failings and his position behind the eight ball. Flo is sensitively wary of temptations for her daughters. Madge, bored with being only a beauty, sacrifices her chances for a wealthy marriage for the excitement Hal promises. Her sister, Millie, finds her balance for the first time through the stranger's brief attention. And the spinster is stirred to make an issue out of the dangling courtship that has brightened her life in a dreary, minor way.

Directed by Eric Walby, the play features Mary O'Connor as Helen Potts, J.D. Wilson as Hal Carter, Madelyn Barkocy as Millie Owens, Corinne Chandler as Madge Owens, Teresa Mota as Flo Owens, Donne Petito as Rosemary Sydney, Zachary Caruso as Alan Seymour, Terrie Copeland as Irma Kronkite, Heidi Hart as Christine Schoenwalder, Matthew Cox as Bomber Gutzel, and Charles Deitz as Howard Bevans. It is produced by Darren Nye and Paul Carter.

Tickets cost $18 per adult and $16 per student or senior, with group rates available upon request. The show will run at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays April 1-17.

 To purchase tickets, click here. Villagers Theatre is located at 475 DeMott Lane, Somerset.