Picnic

Most Awarded Show in Broadway History

NOTE FROM STRO:

Picnic is a Pulitzer Prize-winning play written by the American playwright and novelist William Inge. A family drama that takes place in a quaint Kansas town, the action occurs mainly in the backyard with visiting neighbors and friends – a real slice of life in a small town where everyone knows your business. When a handsome drifter named Hal steps into this backyard, he disrupts the lives of young Madge and the other townswomen.

Director Scott Ellis asked me to choreograph this play for the Roundabout Theater and I was delighted. I was very familiar with the movie – the steamy dance between the two lead characters, Hal and Madge, has remained clear in my memory.

Scott Ellis moved the time period to the 1930’s. There are several instances where various characters reference music – piano music, radio music, band music. Scott wanted to honor these references and seize the opportunity to have the characters dance. Through dancing, real dramatic conflicts can begin to exist. Scott asked the talented musician Louie Rosen to create the music. Together, Louie and I worked on the tempo and mood needed to accentuate the time period and illuminate the characters’ longings.

I used a dance familiar to the 1930’s called The Shag. It’s an early form of swing dancing and can become very sensual. The term shag is slang for having sex and it seemed like the perfect dance to do on this hot summer night in Kansas.

I had a tremendous time teaching it to everyone. I adored the accomplished actresses in the show – Debra Monk, Anne Pitoniak, Polly Holliday. They could not wait to rehearse The Shag! A lot of laughs were had as we swayed our hips to and fro in Tony Walton’s wonderfully designed backyard.

Our lead characters, Ashley Judd and Kyle Chandler, danced with restrained passion and, as actors, embraced the chance to have the subtext of their desires on view.

Scott Ellis did a marvelous job directing the cast. You felt the strength and vulnerability of each character. It was like you were spying on your next-door neighbors. Real human emotions, even the quiet ones, were always evident. He achieved the poignant discoveries in highlighting the lives of ordinary people.

The story of Picnic makes us examine our own desires for love and longing. In the end, it’s about following one’s heart and the ramifications of that choice – taking a chance and running away. I have seen the play and movie now several times and I still always wonder if Madge will run off with Hal in the end. She always does. And long after the play is over, I always wonder “How is it working out?”

Stro
No items found.
No items found.
No items found.
No items found.
No items found.
Scroll
Scroll

Picnic

1 Video

Picnic opened at Criterion Center Stage Right on April 21, 1994.

Close

Written by William Inge
Incidental Music by Louis Rosen
Direction by Scott Ellis 
Choreography by Susan Stroman
Set Design by Tony Walton 
Costume Design by William Ivey Long
Lighting Design by Peter Kaczorowski
Sound Design by Tony Meola

Criterion Center Stage Right
Premiere: April 21, 1994
Full Credits: IBDb

This is some text inside of a div block.
110 in the Shade
This is some text inside of a div block.
A Christmas Carol
This is some text inside of a div block.
A Little Night Music
This is some text inside of a div block.
And the World Goes ’Round
This is some text inside of a div block.
Big Fish
This is some text inside of a div block.
Big The Musical
This is some text inside of a div block.
Blossom Got Kissed
This is some text inside of a div block.
Bullets Over Broadway
This is some text inside of a div block.
But Not for Me
This is some text inside of a div block.
Center Stage
This is some text inside of a div block.
Contact
This is some text inside of a div block.
Crazy For You
This is some text inside of a div block.
Crazy for You
This is some text inside of a div block.
Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams
This is some text inside of a div block.
Don Giovanni
This is some text inside of a div block.
Dot
This is some text inside of a div block.
Double Feature
This is some text inside of a div block.
Flora the Red Menace
This is some text inside of a div block.
For the Love of Duke
This is some text inside of a div block.
Happiness
This is some text inside of a div block.
Left on Tenth
This is some text inside of a div block.
Little Dancer
This is some text inside of a div block.
Liza: Stepping Out at Radio City
This is some text inside of a div block.
New York, New York
This is some text inside of a div block.
Oklahoma!
This is some text inside of a div block.
POTUS
This is some text inside of a div block.
Photograph 51
This is some text inside of a div block.
Picnic
This is some text inside of a div block.
Prince of Broadway
This is some text inside of a div block.
Show Boat
This is some text inside of a div block.
Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall
This is some text inside of a div block.
Steel Pier
This is some text inside of a div block.
Take Five… More or Less
This is some text inside of a div block.
The Beast in the Jungle
This is some text inside of a div block.
The Frogs
This is some text inside of a div block.
The Kennedy Center Honors: Mel Brooks
This is some text inside of a div block.
The Last Two People on Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville
This is some text inside of a div block.
The Merry Widow
This is some text inside of a div block.
The Music Man
This is some text inside of a div block.
The Producers
This is some text inside of a div block.
The Producers: The Movie Musical
This is some text inside of a div block.
The Scottsboro Boys
This is some text inside of a div block.
Thou Shalt Not
This is some text inside of a div block.
Trading Places
This is some text inside of a div block.
You've Got Mail
This is some text inside of a div block.
Young Frankenstein
This is some text inside of a div block.
Young Frankenstein
This is some text inside of a div block.