Mundelein High Theatre to present 'Picnic'
It may be winter in Mundelein, but on stage at Mundelein High School it will be a sultry Labor Day in 1953 Kansas, as MHS Theatre presents "Picnic" by William Inge.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning romantic drama will be performed at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 4, 5 and 6, in the MHS Auditorium.
An after-school matinee will be performed at 3:45 p.m. Feb. 5, which is free for MHS students, and there will also be a 3 p.m. show Feb. 6, which will be performed by the "Picnic" understudy cast.
Tickets are a recommended donation of $5 for students and seniors and $7 for adults. Tickets can be reserved by visiting the theater website at www.mhstheatre.net or at the door 30 minutes prior to each performance.
"Picnic" takes place on a warm Labor Day weekend as Flo Owens and her two daughters, Madge and Millie, prepare for the town's Labor Day picnic. Into this female atmosphere comes a handsome young drifter, Hal Carter, who rocks the world of this family, as well as the rest of the inhabitants of this small Kansas town.
"I fell for the work of William Inge when I acted in one of his plays in college," said Jonathan Meier, the play's director. "I think Inge is underrated as a playwright. For my money, he should be mentioned in the same breath as Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and Eugene O'Neal."
Meier has been studying this play and this author extensively, as the show was his thesis production to complete a master of arts in directing from the Chicago Conservatory of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago.
"I have always been drawn to these types of plays and these types of characters," Meier said. "On the surface they seem to be simple, Midwest, salt-of-the-earth folks. But deep down they are brimming with hopes, dreams and passions."
Leading the cast are Payton Cousins as Flo, Marisa Nuzzo as Madge, Ginny Zundel as Millie and Brenden Paul as Hal.
Rounding out the cast are Gina Otrembiak, Rygar Carvajal, Emily Parduhn, Emma Roswick, Thomas Ferro, Hannah Weiss and Joey Salit. Assistant directors are Angela Peterson and Karsen Sample.
The stage manager is Josie David. The understudies for "Picnic" are Jenna Panos, Robbie Iraburo-Cochran, Halli Carpender, Joe Dolff, Sheridan Hurtig, Ella Krauss, Annie McGrath, Dominic Cappuccilli, Jasmine Cuasay, Maddie Martorana and Jake Cumberland.
Continuing their tradition of selecting a community engagement partner for each of their shows, MHS Theatre has chosen the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for "Picnic." Donations for JDRF will be accepted at each performance.