The Duluth Playhouse kicked off 2011 with William Inge’s Picnic, a drama that reflects on beauty and its uses, restrictive gender roles, and identity. Though Inge’s play grapples with such profound philosophical themes, it does so with plenty of sultriness and a surprising amount of fun. Through its strong performances and an absorbing plot, Picnic transports the audience to the lazy, fleeting days of summer.

Curtis Phillips’ set design, featuring two rundown porches in close proximity, lends an almost claustrophobic quality to the action, a feeling of being stuck in a small town where even the train doesn’t really take you anywhere. Carole Brossart’s costume design also deserves recognition: from housedresses to party frocks, all were pitch-perfect and evoked a rural, 1950’s Midwest.

Carolyn LePine (Madge) effectively communicates her character’s sense of ennui, isolated in a small town and dismissed by everyone as merely a beautiful object without much use. Madge’s boyfriend, Alan (played by Jacob Effinger) shares this perception of Madge as not quite real. Effinger, who looks like he stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting, deftly conveys Alan’s suppressed rage.  Though Effinger’s gestures sometimes seem a bit unnatural, they actually work to underscore the fact that his character is unaccustomed to expressing anger.

Jennie Ross (Millie), as she did in Sex Change, displays a talent for physical comedy, capturing the awkwardness of adolescence with loose-limbed energy and plenty of petulant foot-stomping. LePine and Ross have wonderful chemistry, creating a convincing and instantly relatable sibling rivalry.

Seth Carlson (Hal) creates a character who, like Madge, is frustrated by others’ perception of him. But while Madge passively laments her situation, Hal actively attempts to construct an alternate identity for himself by recounting a number of incredible life experiences, which may or may not be exaggeration (or outright lies). Carlson does an excellent job of conveying a character whose considerable sex appeal is tinged with a sense of menace (I should also note that Carlson elicited many appreciative murmurs from the audience, as he spends a good deal of the first act shirtless).

Julie MacIver Venhuizen (Rosemary) shows exceptional range, as her character’s façade of independence and worldly confidence slowly crumbles as the play goes on. Her performance is alternately hilarious and heartbreaking: Venhuizen’s scenes with Keith Shelbourn, who plays her reluctant suitor, Howard, are particularly memorable.

Cathy Berggren (Mrs. Potts) and Ellie Martin as Millie and Madge’s mother, Flo, represent another avenue open to Madge: marriage. Mrs. Potts, at first glance, is an overly officious neighbor caring for her aging mother. However, it is later revealed that her marriage was quickly annulled after a scandalous elopement. Flo sought domestic stability, only to be abandoned by her husband, with two children to care for.  Ultimately, Madge is faced with a number of choices. By the end of the play, after characters’ pretenses have been stripped away, all of these options, from remaining single to seeking stability in a loveless marriage to running off with an unreliable drifter, seem rather bleak.

Despite the rather weighty themes and an ambiguous ending, this play is also surprisingly funny: Rosemary’s fellow teachers (Ashley Christman and Amber Goodspeed) and an antagonistic paperboy (Cory Regnier), all provide comic relief, and Berggren’s lecherous glances (and sometimes more than glances) at Carlson had the audience howling. The impulse to change one’s life and catch the next train out of town remains particularly relatable, especially during these seemingly endless winter months. And for two hours on The Playhouse stage, Picnic provides its audience with such an escape.

Hail of Bullets:

• What: Picnic
• Where: Duluth Playhouse
• When: Jan. 20-30 (Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 2 pm).

*Opening night (Thursday, Jan. 20) is date night: the festivities kick off at 6:45 with complimentary champagne, chocolates, and a roses (available to the first 50 patrons). Music will be provided by Sam Black.*