Bus Stop

by William Inge

Venue

BF Rec Center Auditorium
Dates

July 25 – 27 at 7pm
Duration

Approx. 120 Minutes (Incl 15 Min Intermission)

In the middle of a howling snowstorm, a bus out of Kansas City pulls up at a cheerful roadside diner. All roads are blocked, and four or five weary travelers are going to have to hole up until morning. Cherie, a nightclub chanteuse in a sparkling gown and a seedy fur-trimmed jacket, is the passenger with most to worry about. She’s been pursued, made love to and finally kidnapped by a 21-year-old cowboy with a ranch of his own and the romantic methods of an unusually headstrong bull. The belligerent cowhand is right behind her, ready to sling her over his shoulder and carry her, alive and kicking, all the way to Montana. Even as she’s ducking out from under his clumsy but confident embraces, and screeching at him fiercely to shut him up, she is inexplicably drawn to him. As a counterpoint to the main romance, the proprietor of the cafe and the bus driver find time to develop a friendship of their own; a middle-age scholar comes to terms with himself; and a young girl who works in the cafe gets her first taste of romance.

The Original Production

Bus Stop is a 1955 play by American playwright William Inge. Produced on Broadway, it was nominated for four Tony Awards in 1956. Bus Stop was adapted as a 1956 film of the same name, directed by Joshua Logan and starring Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray; none of the original Broadway cast repeated their roles for the film. The play was also adapted as a 26-episode TV series which aired on ABC from 1961–1962.

William Inge should be a great comfort to all of us…he brings to the theatre a kind of warm-hearted compassion, creative vigor, freshness of approach and appreciation of average humanity that can be wonderfully touching and stimulating.

New York Post

Back to a simpler time… and a simpler stage production

The previous two shows before Bus Stop were larger scale shows with lots of actors and large sets with big moving pieces, so it was decided to wrap up 2013 with a smaller scale show, but by no means and simpler show. Bus Stop is a show about complex characters trying to figure themselves out on a fateful show and was the kind of meaty script that is always a pleasure to tackle for our volunteers. It was a fantastic way to finish up our third season of theater in Belle Fourche by telling the story of characters in a different small town.