Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Picnic: Phillip Shinn


'I gotta get somewhere in this world. I just gotta.'
Hal Carter


Picnic
Kansas City Actors Theatre
August 6th-13th, 2013
Hal Carter played by Phillip Shinn


'Picnic rides to some extent on the shoulders of the actor playing Hal, who must manifest toughness and sexual charisma but ultimately reveal a measure of mental anguish and even self-hatred within. Phillip Shinn’s tight body and six-pack abs (and his penetrating eyes) lend verisimilitude to the part: It’s easy to see why all the females, and perhaps Alan as well, are smitten by him. '


'But Phillip has the maturity to make Hal into more than a glorified Fonz, peeling off the layers of bravado to show the tortured soul – scarred by a disastrous upbringing – that none of his womanizing can assuage. Perhaps Madge is the answer to his pain, perhaps he to hers. We can only hope. Hey, sometimes love conquers all, doesn’t it?'
The Kansas City Independent 

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