Picnic

Picnic Summary | Act 1 Summary

Picnic starts on Labor Day, early in the morning in a small Kansas town. All of the on-stage action happens on the porches of two neighboring homes. Mrs. Flo Owens lives in one of the homes with her teenage daughters, Madge and Millie. An older woman, Mrs. Helen Potts, lives in the other house, where she takes care of her invalid mother. The scene starts with Mrs. Potts talking with Hal, a very handsome young vagabond she has hired for the day. Mrs. Potts is very kind to him and feeds him breakfast in exchange for his work.

Meanwhile, on the other porch, Millie is bickering with a teenager named Bomber. Madge comes out. She is "unusually" beautiful and eighteen years old. Bomber asks Madge out on a date. She explains she is dating Alan and says Bomber should leave her alone. However, Bomber is persistent and begins to use crude, insulting language to pressure her into accepting a date. Hal appears from next door and tells Bomber to leave. Bomber is intimidated by Hal's football player physique and slinks away. Madge and Hal exchange hellos and appear instantly attracted to each other, but before they can speak further, Flo comes outside and chases Hal off her property.

As the three women stand on the porch, they hear a train whistle in the distance. Millie says that when she hears trains she dreams of getting on one and taking it all the way to New York. Her mother scoffs at her and reminds her that the train only goes as far as Tulsa. Madge says she always hopes some important person will get off the train by accident and discover her working behind the counter at the dime store. She fantasies about the stranger whisking her off to Washington to work in the Espionage Department.

Flo dismisses the girls' dreams and changes the subject to Alan. She quizzes Madge on how far she lets Alan go when they are alone together. Madge says they only kiss. Flo seems less concerned about their physical relationship than trying to convince Madge that marrying Alan would mean a nice home, shopping trips and a membership at the local country club. Flo tells Madge that girls are only young and pretty for a short time and if she wants a secure future, she must catch a good husband before her beauty fades. The subject changes to an upcoming dance. Madge and Mille argue. Mille calls Madge stupid and teases her about not getting good grades. Madge responds by calling Millie "a goon" and Millie attacks her. Flo breaks up the fight, but not before the audience can see the deep animosity between the two sisters. Millie leaves. Madge complains to Flo that she is tired of being pretty and says there is no value to being beautiful.

Rosemary Snyder, a schoolteacher, makes a grand appearance. She is a border who never married. While she likes dating men, she says she has no interest in them once they start wanting a serious relationship. She likes her independence. As they talk, Rosemary is scandalized when she notices Hal working next door without a shirt. Flo and Rosemary gossip. They discuss Helen Potts' mother and how difficult she is to care for. They also talk about Helen's wedding years ago and how her mother forced her to annul it on the same day, never allowing Helen to have a true marriage.

Alan shows up to see Madge. Helen Potts comes over and tells Alan that she has hired a young man who claims to know Alan from college. Alan has no idea who she is talking about and goes inside to visit with Madge. The women continue to talk about Hal. Throughout this scene, they frequently mention that Hal worked for his breakfast. Flo and Rosemary look down on Hal and think it is disgraceful for Mrs. Potts to hire unknown men. Mrs. Potts defends Hal repeatedly. She is deeply offended by Rosemary's insinuation that she is attracted to the much younger man. Rosemary apologizes and Flo tries to smooth things over between the women.

Madge and Alan come outside. She is wearing a new dress. They all comment on how beautiful she looks. Meanwhile, Millie is reading a book. Rosemary, once again shocked by perceived impropriety, tells Flo the book is filthy and banned by the local library. Alan defends Millie, telling Flo that the book is on the reading list at his college. Flo comments on Millie's odd tastes. Madge agrees and mentions the pictures Millie has hung in her room. Millie says the pictures are by the great artist, Picasso, and says, "Pictures don't have to be pretty."

The women leave the stage. Hal walks over and sees Alan. They yell with glee and start to roughhouse, hugging and jumping on each other. It turns out they were very close friends in college and fraternity brothers. Alan asks Hal what happened to the hundred dollars he loaned him to become a Hollywood actor. Hal recounts his screen test. He says it all went well until they told him he would have to have his teeth fixed to be on camera. He then tells Alan that after Hollywood, he saved money working on a Nevada ranch. However, he lost his money when two girls robbed him at gunpoint after a night of wild sexual encounters. Alan is excited and impressed by the stories, saying nothing like that ever happens to him. The two young men become more serious and talk about their former school days. Hal complains that the other fraternity brothers did not respect him because of his poor upbringing. He says Alan was the only person who treated him like a human being. Hal also tells Alan that his father, a drunk, has died and he has been left with nothing. He asks Alan for a job with Alan's father. Hal dreams of being an executive who wears a suit and tie to an office. Instead of an office job, Alan suggests a job working on a pipeline.

Rosemary comes out of the house wearing an expensive new outfit and hat. She brags that she does not have to ask anyone for money. Two other schoolteachers arrive to take Rosemary to a luncheon. Hal and Millie burst out of the house, pretending to fistfight. The women are shocked by his bare-chested appearance and Flo, who has snubbed Hal, is surprised to find out that he really is a friend of Alan's. Alan, embarrassed by Hal's lack of manners, tells him to put on his shirt. The teachers leave for their lunch and Mrs. Potts invites Hal to a picnic that is to be held later that day. Mrs. Potts wants Alan to be Millie's date. Millie and Hal race off, continuing their play. Flo, still bothered by Hal, asks Alan how Hal could have gotten into college. Alan explains that Hal had a football scholarship. While he was an outstanding athlete, he was not a good student. Alan tells Flo that the other boys were hard on Hal, but that he thinks Hal is a very nice person and the best friend he ever had. Flo is worried that Hal will be a bad influence on Mille, but Alan says he will keep an eye on the pair.

Madge comes outside and Alan tells her his father is making him return to college. Madge comments on all of the girls that may attract Alan. He says he was never interested in college girls and that he hopes Madge truly cares for him. Hal returns and tells Alan he is worried that he will not know how to act around "nice women" at the picnic. The two joke about Hal's lack of social skills for a moment and then leave, telling Madge they will return to pick up the girls at five o'clock. Flo calls Madge back in the house. As she turns to go inside, she hears another train whistle in the distance. She stops and stands listening to the sound. The curtain closes.