Syracuse University’s Department of Drama begins the spring semester of its 2025-26 season with “Picnic,” by William Inge. Directed by Ralph Zito, performances of “Picnic” will be held Feb. 20-March 1 in the Storch Theatre at the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama Complex, 820 E. Genesee St. Tickets are available through the Syracuse Stage Box Office at syracusestage.org/drama or by phone at 315.443.3275.
As a small Kansas town prepares for the annual Labor Day picnic, handsome young drifter Hal stirs up long dormant feelings amongst a group of repressed women, including Madge, a beauty queen who yearns for another life whenever she hears the train whistle blow.
In “Picnic,” playwright William Inge unfolds the story over a single day, capturing the nuances of midwestern life in the early 1950s. Director Ralph Zito explains, “At the heart of each character in this play is a deep and active yearning for a way of life that they richly deserve, but don’t necessarily feel worthy of.”
Disappointments, resentments and rivalries simmer with the late summer swelter in Inge’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic about the power of attraction and the perils of unfulfilled desire.
Details
“Picnic”
Written by William Inge
Directed by Ralph Zito
Scenic Design by Laura Hawkes
Costume Design by Reyna Sanchez
Co-Lighting Design by Alex Jainchill and Henry Killbourn
Sound Design by Kevin O’Connor
Choreography by Bradley Stone
Intimacy Choreography by Kathleen Baum
Stage Combat by Alec Barbour
Voice/Verse Coaching by Holly Thuma
Dramaturgy by Peter Dessert
Stage Managed by Amelia Mindlin-Leitner
Chair, Department of Drama
Eleanor Holdridge
Cast
Emily Anagnos (Helen Potts)
Harrison Wei (Hal Carter)
Sidney Danielle Barbour (Millie Owens)
Ethan Z Lang (Bomber Gutzel)
Lily Gianna Nelson (Madge Owens)
Lucy Foss (Flo Owens)
Leah Steinman (Rosemary Sydney)
Kai Ayush (Alan Seymour)
Violet Lanciloti (Irma Kronkite)
Kate Wass (Christine Shoenwalder)
Caleb Kenin Elias-Reyes (Howard Bevans)
Understudies
Violet Lanciloti (U/S Flo Owens, Mrs. Potts)
Ethan Z Lang (U/S Hal Carter)
Addelyn Esposito (U/S Millie Owens, Christine Schoenwalder, Irma Kronkite)
Kate Wass (U/S Madge Owens)
Henry Joyce (U/S Alan Seymour, Howard Bevans, Bomber Gutzel)
Elizabeth Everett (U/S Rosemary Sydney)
Additional Credits
Dance Captain: Emily Anagnos
Fight Captain: Caleb Kenin Elias-Reyes
Intimacy Captain: Amelia Mindlin-Leitner
Assistant Director: Amanda Podhurst
Assistant Costume Designers: Hannah Sophia McLaughlin, Gray Westbrook
Assistant Lighting Designer: Hannah LoGiudice
Lighting Programmer: Amelia Dayton
Assistant Stage Managers: Claire Arveson, Jin Kil
Production Staff and Run Crew
Faculty Advisor to Student Designers: Alex Jainchill
Faculty Advisor to Stage Managers: Don Buschmann
Light Board Operator: Maya Ross
Sound Board Operator: Jack Anderson
Deck (Run Crew): Amandre Ali, Liv Bersot, Mackenzie Cullen, Abby Larkin
Dressers (Run Crew): Bella Carroll, Harrison Hauptman, Maximo Paniagua, Sawyer Ricehall, Connor Willingham
Electrics: Nashaly Bonilla, Declan Hall, Eunchae Kim, Abby Larkin, Bella Molino, Maya Ross, Bennie Shaffer, Finn Sheehan
Costume Maintenance: John Allen, Savannah Palmer
Production Assistants: Nashaly Bonilla, Gabe Dutari, Kellie Klocksien, Rowan Modisher