Milwaukee Chamber’s showing of "Picnic," his Pulitzer Prize winner of 1953, is proof that many of his plays still provide good entertainment.

I hope more area theaters choose to produce some of his other works, such as "Bus Stop," "Dark at the Top of the Stairs" and "Come Back, Little Sheba," which all deserve revivals.

This production follows the Chamber’s habit of collaborating with local colleges.

In this performance, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee theater students and professors comprised a goodly portion of the cast, along with other Chamber regulars. It was a satisfying marriage of talents under the able direction of Michael Wright.

Repression, frustration and longing epitomize the mood of this play, set in a small town in Kansas on Labor Day weekend. People are preparing for their annual town picnic to put the official stamp on the end of summer. They meet in the yard adjoining the homes of Helen Potts and Flo Owens.

Potts takes care of her elderly mother and gives temporary employment and shelter to those in need. She is a generous soul who is obviously lonely but not self-pitying. Her neighbor, Flo, has two daughters, Madge and Millie, for whom she is trying to find a better life than the one she has had. She rents out a room to Rosemary Sidney, a local teacher, to meet her expenses. Her daughter Madge is the town beauty presently dating Alan Seymour, a young man of means. Milly, the younger sister, is sassy, spunky, talented, but unsure of her feminine appeal.

Enter Hal, a handsome drifter who upsets the equilibrium of several households. He is a dropout from college, where he played football but succeeded at little else. He hides his sense of failure with boastful stories of his conquests and adventures. He is raw and real. He and Alan know each other, but definitely come from different societal strata.

There is an immediate attraction between Hal and Madge, which propels the desperate Rosemary to realize that middle age is fast approaching, so she confronts Hal and then her boyfriend Howard in two of the most dramatic scenes in the play. Madge’s tepid relationship with Alan soon pales even more when she begins to feel something quite different for Hal.

Sexual tension permeates the story, and one feels its power to propel people to take actions that break old patterns. The cast works well together. Especially compelling are Andrew Voss as the sex god Hal and Tami Workentin as the pitiful aging teacher.

Raeleen provides stability and comfort as Helen Potts, and Bill Watson as the pursued bachelor gets better as he goes along. Emily Vitrano shines as the beautiful Madge, but April Paul is a five-star Milly, the confused but spunky little sister.

Scenic Design and lighting were well executed by the talented R. H. Graham and Stephen Roy White.

The most credit goes to Michael Wright, who gathered together this cast of talented actors and molded them into this engaging production.

The show runs through Nov. 1. Call (414) 291-7800 for times and tickets.