In this scene from Picnic, 18-year-old Madge Owens (Emily Peterson), universally acclaimed as the "prettiest girl in town," and her 16-year-old sister, Millie (Alisa Lynn), discuss the upcoming Labor Day picnic.
Millie, a tomboy, is uncharacteristically wearing a dress. As Madge paints her toenails, Millie interrogates her sister about how to handle boys.
"I was born in Oklahoma City, Okla. at the time this play takes place, around 1954 in small-town Kansas," says director Mark Robbins. "So I feel that I grew up around people who looked and acted very much like the characters in the play.
"Consequently, the play has a little bite of nostalgia for me, mixed with my growing awareness of the universality of the mundane human tragedies that take place within."
The Kansas City Actors Theatre presents William Inge's Picnic August 6–25, 2013 at Union Station’s H&R Block City Stage, 30 W Pershing Rd Kansas City, Mo. 816-361-5228.
