As this artist's rendition shows, the suggested stage for Summer and Smoke has the park in the middle with a doctor's office and a rectory one either side. I've begun to wonder if all Tennessee Williams sets are so elaborate and all-inclusive.
In the scene we meet Mr. and Mrs. Winemiller, Mr. being a Reverend and a seemingly patient and gentle man. Mrs. Winemiller without much explanation to it is reversed to a state of childhood in which she has to be constantly cared for/dealt with. Alma, their daughter is sort of a frail, shy, and conservative creature. She's older at heart than she is in years and she laughs lightly at the end of most of her lines to highlight her cheerful disposition and airy manner. It is also learned that Alma is a singer/singing instructor and most people don't like her because she seems fake or too proper. Alma has some sort of illness which John's father, Dr. John Buchanan Sr, attends to her for. John is apparently also going into the medical field and feels he'll do better than his father. John is confident, manly, and teasing. He likes to play with Alma's shy and skittish nature. Though at first I really disliked John for how he messed with Alma, they have an undeniable chemistry. They play around in a way as one moves and the other follows. A dance-a chase. At the end John admits his fondness for Alma but she can barely believe it.
Several smaller characters are introduced such as Rosa Gonzales, a beautiful woman who attracts John's attention; Nellie, Alma's singing student who is a precocious 16 year old with a scandalous mother; and Roger, a kind and sort of nerdy friend of Alma's.
This is all basically exposition and this first scene didn't make much sense to me.
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