STAGE REVIEW : ‘Picnic’s’ Coy Sexuality Grows Stale as Times Change

In an era when Chippendales dancers gyrate in G-strings and hard-core sex is as close as cable TV, it is hard to imagine a time when a man could tap into a woman’s submerged libido by walking around with his shirt off. But that is just what William Inge’s “Picnic” tries to evoke.

To say that the 1953 play is dated is like saying a sumo wrestler is portly. Any serious consideration of “Picnic” as a reflection on sexual repression, even in the rural outback or along the Bible Belt, is bound to seem odd today. But can’t we appreciate this Pulitzer Prize winner as a slice of Americana? Even at that, it is not always fulfilling.

Still, “Picnic” continues to be a prime ticket on the revival circuit and, when produced with lots of invention and enough sly wit, it can at least be intriguing, much like a kitschy antique polished bright to catch the eye. Unfortunately, at the Irvine Community Theater, director Tom Titus and his cast have approached the melodrama with too much reverence.

The straightforward delivery emphasizes the weariness of the piece, instead of masking it. And at times, the results of the approach are, however unintentionally, comic.

When brawny drifter Hal (Robert Halverson) peels off his top and struts around the Kansas farmyard, the local women all but melt in appreciation; his hormones plus their erotic yearnings equal lots of heat.

The naive Madge (Kimberly Helgeson) flutters in recognition that her womanhood is about to flower through this manly man. The “old maid schoolteacher” Rosemary (Shelley Poncy) nearly swoons at the sight of this sweaty hunk. Only Ma Owens (Marcia Bertholf) is immediately suspicious of the stranger, but even she just can’t keep her eyes off that man.

At one point, having just, uh, consummated her friendship with middle-aged boyfriend Howard (Bill Carden), Rosemary demands that he marry her. It is Rosemary’s big scene. But there was tittering in the audience.

Other giggles were heard during the many times that Hal’s overpowering attractiveness is discussed, though this may be less the fault of the dialogue than of Halverson’s portrayal. Hal usually is given a fair amount of hayseed charm--you can take the hunk out of the farm but not the farm out of the hunk--but also a dose of unpredictability and danger.

Halverson, though, is all simple-minded nice guy (at times he even reminds you of Lenny from Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”). He seems too confused to have any notion of his impact on women. There has to be more to this guy than that.

Why does Madge give up her wealthy, steady beau Alan (Randy Lord) for Hal? Helgeson doesn’t offer many clues. She is OK early on, when all that is required is an ingenue’s vanity. But when the role demands more, Helgeson has trouble.

The only actor unscathed by all this is Lisa Freeman, who plays Millie, Madge’s younger sister, who develops a fleeting crush on (who else?) Hal. Freeman brings gentle spunk to the character. She also gets some of the funniest lines, which, in this rigid production, further helps her stand out.

‘PICNIC’

An Irvine Community Theater production of William Inge’s “Picnic.” Directed by Tom Titus. With Darlene Williams, Robert Halverson, Lisa Freeman, Timothy Titus, Kimberley Helgeson, Marcia Bertholf, Shelley Poncy, Randy Lord, Nancy Zeltzer, Kelly Patterson and Bill Carden. Plays Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. through Aug. 27 at Turtle Rock Park, 1 Sunnyhill Road, Irvine. Tickets: $4 and $5. (714) 857-5496.