Picnic Reviews

Santa Monica Mirror- Not Recommended

"...So, to be absolutely clear, this is not your William Holden, Kim Novak award-winning version of “PICNIC.” What you have instead, is a rather amateurish rendering of this American classic. I dare say that the playwright is probably turning over in his grave wondering how his play, under the spotty direction of John Farmanesh–Bocca, morphed into a high school or even a middle school version."

Broadway World- Highly Recommended

"...Lust cools as picnics end and consequences lead to practical questions. The train that earlier promised passage to so many better places will return and it will carry one or more people away. The cast of this PICNIC have ably done their work, thereby assuring that it matters to us - as it did to Inge - where these ordinary folks are going and what they will do when they get there."

Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended

"...An African-American cast, a decade-later timeframe, and a hit-packed ’60s R&B soundtrack revitalize William Inge’s 1953 classic Picnic in John Farmanesh-Bocca’s ground-breaking new intimate revival for Odyssey Theatre Ensemble."

Showmag- Recommended

"...Director John Farmanesh-Bocca’s recreation of Picnic, now in an exciting staging at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, has a memorable cast of characters that are all Black Americans. But according to Mr. Farmanesh-Bocca’s program note, not a word of dialogue has been altered. Though Picnic has been transported from the 1950s with a toe-tapping soundtrack that sounds as if it could be lifted from an episode of Soul Train (both John Farmanesh-Bocca and Jeff Gardner are credited with sound design), the story of eros versus practicality still rings with currency and relevance."

Stage Raw- Somewhat Recommended

"...The production approaches the poignancy and truth at the play’s heart with the performances of Mason and Parker as Rosemary and Howard respectively — she an unhappy “spinster” desperate not to end life alone, he a nice-enough fella who wants to stay unattached. As Flo’s good-hearted neighbor, Mrs. Potts, a persuasive Rosemary Thomas contributes a palpable sense of community to the story."

Theatre Notes- Highly Recommended

"...It is heart rending and humorous at the same time. Absolutely loved it. And I am sure that was one reason that the opening night performance had an audience that pelt to their feet with unbridled enthusiasm. Bravo!"

Glamgical- Recommended

"...Picnic is a sublime painting of the American heartland, a meaningful play with a ray of hope in the face of emptiness. The direction and the cast give a refreshing and meaningful rendition to William Inge’s exceptional script; a story set in a small Kansas town on a Labor Day picnic that says so much of what America was and what it has become, for better or worse."