‘Picnic’ Starring Maggie Grace, Sebastian Stan Opens January 13

“Picnic” sets an official opening date of January 13, 2013, with previews beginning tonight, December 14.

The Pulitzer Prize winning play stars Maggie Grace and Sebastian Stan, and the limited engagement is scheduled to run at the American Airlines Theatre until February 24, 2013.

Here’s how the Roundabout Theatre Company describes the show:

It’s a balmy Labor Day in the American Heartland, and a group of women are preparing for a picnic… but they’ll have to lay a lot on the line before they can lay out the checkered cloths. When a handsome young drifter named Hal (Stan) arrives, his combination of uncouth manners and titillating charm sends the women reeling, especially the beautiful Madge (Grace). When Hal is forced out of town, Madge must decide whether their fleeting encounter is worth changing the course of her life.

 Sensual, passionate and delightfully funny, Picnic is a timeless American classic about the line between restraint and desire.

The William Inge comedy originally was performed on Broadway in 1953. Director Joshua Logan won a Tony Award for Best Director, and the play also was awarded the Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play.

Sam Gold will direct the new incarnation of the play, and other cast members include Reed Birney, Elizabeth Marvel, Ben Rappaport, Cassie Beck, Madeleine Martin, Maddie Corman, Chris Perfetti and Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn.

Both Grace and Stan will be making their Broadway debut. They are best known for their television roles – Grace as Shannon Rutherford in “Lost” and Stan as Carter Baizen in “Gossip Girl.” Grace also has appeared in films including “The Jane Austen Book Club,” “The Fog,” “Suburban Girl,” “Taken” and “Taken 2.” Stan has appeared in the television shows “Once Upon a Time” (ABC) and “Kings” (NBC), as well as the films “Black Swan” and “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

Author: David Rogers