(all photos by Keira Wight)
William Inge’s 1953 play Picnic brought the Kansan playwright his only Pulitzer Prize. Although there have been many star-studded stage productions in the decades since, Picnic is mainly remembered from its 1955 film adaptation which starred William Holden, Kim Novak and Rosalind Russell among others. Inge was a famously closeted gay man, and now playwright Eric Anderson has written a play that Inge himself might have written if he had the benefit of these more open times. The result is Back Porch, currently receiving its World Premiere by Bluestem Productions at Burbank’s Victory Theatre.
Isaac W. Jay and Jordan Morgan
The time is May, 1955 and the action takes place on the back porch of the Opat home in the small Central Kansas town where location filming is set to begin. Recently graduated high school valedictorian Gary (Isaac W. Jay) is bored with his current life as well as his prospects (a scholarship to a nearby teacher’s college). He is excited by the news that the film is looking for extras and, although he auditions, it’s his obnoxious little brother Del (Cody Lemmon) who gets a paying gig. Del is soon bragging about life on the set and announces he has met William Holden and invited him to the house. Panic sets in, especially involving Gary, but it’s for naught. Del misheard the man’s name and it’s Bill Holman (Jordan Morgan), Holden’s stunt double, who shows up. Although disappointed at first, subtle sparks are set off between Gary and Bill until there is a full-blown courtship happening.
Jordan Morgan and Isaac W. Jay
Kelie McIver has lightly directed, and the pacing is as slow as grass growing on the Kansas lawn. Though just over two hours, the play seems much longer. Anderson has written a tender, loving, tactile seduction scene that Jay, and especially Morgan, play very well. At times Jay feels ill at ease in his tall, gangly frame, as he pushes to portray 18-year-old innocence. Morgan is much more comfortable with his character and his charm really sells the romance. Lemmon plays the obnoxious Del with overzealous obnoxiousness. Support is given by Karl Maschek as the boys’ father and Jonathan Fishman as always present neighbor Millard at times come across as an old married couple, although both were married to women.
Erik Zak, Isaac W. Jay and Jordan Morgan
Anderson has too slavishly written his play along all of Inge’s plotlines. About the only thing missing is a romantic slow dance to “Moonglow”. This is most disturbing in the character of bachelor boarder Myron (Erik Zak), an ambitious music teacher. This teetotaler has a sloppy drunk scene late in the second act that is just embarrassing to watch. I wanted to like Back Porch more than I finally did; maybe a rewrite and a bit more originality would help. Anderson did make one change to the original stage version of Picnic which director Joshua Logan made to the film and which has usually been made in stage productions since then. Anderson’s ending reflects Inge’s ending to Summer Brave which was Inge’s first attempt at telling this story.
https://onstage411.com/newsite/show/play_info.asp?show_id=6327