American Players Theatre’s ‘Picnic’ paints a mid-century picture of quiet desperation

Isthmus | Janet Clear | June 30, 2025

It is said that the mirror reflects what we see, but teaches us who we truly are.

William Inge’s Picnic, in repertory at American Players Theatre through Sept. 13, is a portrait of mid-century life in a small Midwestern town. The set encompasses the shared backyard of two neighbors, Helen Potts (Dee Dee Batteast) and Flo Owens (Tracy Michelle Arnold), who rents a room to a boarder, Rosemary Sydney (Colleen Madden). All three are single women in midlife, and together they are the planets orbiting around Flo’s two teenage daughters, Madge and Millie (Alina Taber and Kelly Simmons). Madge is the elder sister, the town beauty, and Flo’s main job at the moment is to see her married off to a fine (but boring) young man, Alan (Colin Covert). Madge is not very smart, but she has her looks — for now. It’s clear that good looks are a fleeting gift, not to be wasted looking for perfection in a husband. Madge knows she’s good looking, and she knows that that’s all she has. She’s not smart or talented like her nerdy younger sister, Millie. Millie is resentful of the attention paid to Madge’s radiant beauty —but secretly, Madge is devastatingly jealous of the opportunities that Millie’s intelligence and talents will bring to her life.

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