Monti D. Washington and Mattie Harris Lowe - Photos by Jenny Graham
By Joe Straw
There is a particular moment in John Formanesh-Bocca’s version of Picnic by William Inge when an audible gasp erupted and stunned the audience. That sublime moment, on this night, jarred the senses and catapulted a relationship onstage up through the stratosphere.
And yet, there were two perspectives on the outcome of that intimate moment. One perspective was that the relationship would never work and that the love of these two people would ultimately fail in dramatic disrepair (mine). While another, the optimist, might dream of the unlimited possibilities these two can create as they move together through life. (not mine)
The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents Picnic by William Inge, produced in association with Isabel and Harvey Kibel and directed by John Farmanesh-Bocca through May 28th, 2023.
A small, isolated town in Kansas can be the loneliest place on the planet, especially for single women who inhabit the barren aridity of the rural countryside waiting for someone to take them away, away from the flat landscape and into hills and valleys of an adventurous life. The only thing giving them vivacity now is the radio that sits in the window, playing an occasional song that moves people in unexpected ways on this Labor Day weekend.
And it’s all coming from the house of Mrs. Helen Potts (Rosemary Thomas). She has seen better days, but today is a special day for her. As luck would have it, she has just fed a transient Hal Carter (Monti D. Washington). He is a good-looking athletic man who seemingly is down on his luck. His clothes are stained with road travel and Hal has agreed to do some chores in exchange for something to eat.
This is something Mrs. Potts does from time to time, picking up strays deposited from a passing train, but this time she has got a catch. Mrs. Potts is a lonely woman, whose continual job now is to take care of her sickly mother who shouts for help from an upstairs bedroom but is never seen.
(Hal is there for something else but will ride this train until something better comes along.)
Mrs. Potts is naturally smitten with the younger Hal and wants to keep him around her country home, feeding him her finest country meal, and if that includes washing the clothes off his back to keep him there longer so be it.
Hal moves off to take care of the chores and suddenly, for a moment, the place becomes man less.
Rogelio Douglas III and Symphony Canady
From the back porch of another house, across the way in the perfect quietude, Millie Owens (Symphony Canady) 14 grabs a beach like chair and decides to take in the warmth of the sun. Add to it a little lotion, a set of cool shades, and she basks in all her summer glory when Bomber (Rogelio Douglas III), delivering newspapers, rides in on his bike. (Note: make the bike a little noisier, put cards in the spokes.)
Bomber tries to make himself known to Millie, but she ignores him like the plague. Definitively, he throws the newspaper against her house and makes a terrible racket. Bomber, knowing her arm strength, hops on a bike and flees the scene. Millie takes that paper, winds up like a centerfielder and throws it at him, like throwing a runner out at home plate.
Madge Owens (Mattie Harris Lowe) steps out on her back porch. She is radiant, the sunlight catching her finer points, and reflecting her beauty all the way over to Hal who suddenly appears.
Flo Owens (Yolanda Snowball), her mother, sizes up the situation, and wants Hal to keep his distance knowing right away that that man is an augury for no good and besides Madge is already spoken for.
Now, everyone wants to peek at this mysterious man including Rosemary Sydney (Sydney A. Mason) a schoolmarm, and a border in the Flo’s house who teaches typing and shorthand. Dressed in her finest, she has yet to find a prospect but is hopeful the picnic on this night will solidify matters with her on again off again beau Howard Bevan (Derrick Parker), a man that one, takes delight in the bottle and two, takes marriage with a grain of salt.
And while everyone agrees the transient Hal is not to be completely trusted things change when Alan Seymour (Ahkei Togun), Madge’s boyfriend, recognizes Hal as his fraternity brother from college.
John Farmanesh-Bocca’s production of Picnic is brilliant. It is a subtle slice of Americana told from a different perspective with a beautifully diverse cast. Its contents breaths human hunger for wants not satiated from the sustenance of a picnic and ends with the socially repugnant and execrable act of treachery. After a few moments of settling down on this night, the play and this production takes off and soars. It is beautiful in the way the sunset takes your breath away and moves one toward the warm feelings of anticipating the night.
Symphony Canady is fantastic as Millie Owens a young woman that can do anything better than her sister but vie for the attention of any male within throwing distance. She’s athletic, cooks, is intelligent and is an artist as well. Moving in the direction of being the leading woman of that household has its challenges, but Canady makes some terrific choices that has her character ascends into the night.
Rogelio Douglas III does a nice turn as Bomber but needs a stronger objective and choices to get where he needs to go. It’s all there but he needs to make some slight adjustments.
Mattie Harris Lowe is striking as Madge and that character can capture men within a fifty-mile radius. It’s unfortunate that the man she wants is 51 miles away so her mind wanders about things that could be. She is not much for cooking. Peeling one potato is a chore that takes longer than necessary and leaves the skin still intact in some places. She is a woman who is tired of her current surroundings and wants to move on. This is a very grand performance of a woman torn between two lovers. She must make up her mind and not take into consideration the feelings for her mother and sister.
Sydney A. Mason and Derrick Parker
Sydney A. Mason is wonderful as Rosemary Sydney. It is a character driven performance that is carefully crafted with so much underlying truth. From the moment she steps on stage until the curtain call Mason is riveting.
The same holds true with Derrick Parker as Howard Bevans, a man who has lived a successful life and doesn’t want that life interrupted with this little thing called marriage. Parker’s craft is excellent as he weaves his way through multiple conflicts on stage. It is subtle at times, but he has a very commanding stage presence, and the work moves toward perfection.
You couldn’t ask for a better Flo Owens than Yolanda Snowball’s performance. She is a mother who lives for her children and wants the best for both. She guides them through life and tries her best to keep her oldest on track. Not everything goes according to plan, but it is obvious she loves both and would do anything for them.
Rosemary Thomas is Mrs. Helen Potts and aside from the opening moments the character grows every moment on stage, and she is wonderful in the role.
Ahkei Togun and Monti D. Washington
One is not too sure about the beard Ahkei Togun has as Alan Seymour for that 1960’s time period, the position he has in the community, and the successful job he has. He is the man that is the opposite of the man who has just arrived. That aside, his work is terrific. Seymour makes a big mistake before the picnic, trusting everyone, and finds later that working to secure the trust is a job in and of itself, and that mistake was the source of his downfall. The moment he arrives after the picnic is a heartbreaking moment and he gathers enough courage to say what he needs to say before the arrival of the tempestuous dawn. He shows little of the shamefaced regret stopping at nothing to win at all costs.
Monti D. Washington plays Hal Carter who is likeable but has made some very bad choices in life. There is enough ambiguity in William Inge’s play to make Hal the perplexing character that he is. Washington is excellent and, one supposes, that despite the physical beast that he is, he is not the only bad character in this play. But, then again, maybe he is. He appears on stage as a transient only to find that he has other motives in mind and perhaps he is not a reliable reporter of the truth.
Erika L. Holmes has some outstanding scenes as Irma Kronkite as well as Caitlin O’Grady as Christine Schoewalder.
Frederica Nasciemento, Scenic Designer, has created a beautiful functional set for the actors working their magic.
Mylette Nora, Costume Designer, has perfected the look of the characters stepping off into the 1960s.
Other members of this delightful crew are as follows:
Chu-Hsuan Chang – Lighting Designer
Brianna Price – Co-Choreographer
Jeff Gardner – Co-Sound Designer
Chris Bell – Scenic Artist
Jeanine MacDonald – Properties Designer
Terrance Stewart – Stage Manager
Andrew Blahak – Assistant State Manager
Ron Sossi – Artistic Director
Beth Hogan – Staff Producer
Leonard Felix, Danny Felix, Mikaela Liewer – Master Carpenters
Jason Detamore, Lenny Felix – Set Construction
Danny Felix – Master Electrician
Matthew Duran – Light Crew
Lucy Pollak – Publicist
Photography – Jenny Graham
Peter Simpson Cook – Graphic Designer (The one sheets look terrific!)
Run! Run! Run! And see this show.
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
2055 South Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Box Office: 310-477-2055
boxoffice@odysseytheatre.com
www.odysseytheatre.com