Relationships — and how folks deal with ones that don’t go according to plan — are the focus for a small troupe of Allen County Community College actors when they present “Bus Stop” tonight through Saturday at the ACCC Theatre.
As each actor has the spotlight focused on his or her character, their sharp differences — and surprising similarities — emerge along the course of the play written by native Kansan William Inge.
At the center is Cherie, a distraught night club dancer, whose recent friendliness to a strapping young cowboy, Bo, has been misconstrued as a sign of love. And Bo, as brash young cowboys can be, is ready to turn that love into marriage, whether Cherie wants it or not.
The pair are among a group of bus passengers stranded at a small-town cafe — set, coincidentally in Lawrence — because of a freak, early-spring snowstorm.
There, they are greeted by the cafe’s owner, Grace, and her young and scholarly, albeit a bit naive, waitress, Elma.
Elma and Grace serve the stranded passengers, including Virgil, Bo’s fellow ranch hand and Dr. Gerald Lyman, a former professor celebrating his most recent bout of unemployment with a cross-country trip, drinking all the way.
Meanwhile, the two eldest characters, Carl, the bus driver, and Sheriff Will Masters serve other purposes. Carl’s goal is to get the passengers on down the road, while the sheriff soon realizes Bo’s fondness for Cherie may soon spin out of control.
Will Cherie rid herself of her persistent pursuer? Find out tonight through Saturday at 7:30. Tickets for the show cost $6 for adults and $4 for students.
THE SETTING for “Bus Stop” is simple enough; it remains in the small 1950s-era restaurant throughout, with only sporadic uses of props.
Instead, the play’s success relies almost exclusively on the characters, and as such, the small ensemble cast.
Mission accomplished.
Valeree Winslow and Chisolm Sluder are simply brilliant as Cherie and Bo. Winslow’s sense of unease around Bo is evident from the start, to the point that she considers hiding outside in a blinding snowstorm to avoid her brash pursuer. Sluder’s character, meanwhile, quickly reveals there’s more to this young cowpoke than his simple boorish demeanor. The audience is certain to be drawn to his angst at realizing that the woman of his dreams apparently does not share the same affection.
Likewise, Brandon Eckley shows off his acting chips with aplomb as the drunken ex-professor, thrice married and in search of something more. He’s on his way to Denver when he finds himself smitten with the young waitress. That Elma is still in school and obviously much too young matters little, particularly after the professor finishes off his bottle of whiskey.
And Kassandra Turner sparkles as Elma, who finds herself drawn to the intellectual professor, particularly after they realize their shared love of Shakespeare. A memorable scene halfway through is their re-enactment of “Romeo and Juliet,” despite the professor’s inebriation, and with the young Juliet perched atop a counter instead of a balcony.
As Bo’s fellow ranch hand, Sean Swanson as Virgil frequently keeps the audience’s focus as the bit more level-headed cowboy, one who understand the ways of the world a bit better than his young and self-impressed traveling partner.
Whitney Olson, too, shines as the earnest and God-fearing sheriff, who doesn’t necessarily want to step in to thwart Bo’s advances as much as he wants to use the events as an opportunity to teach the young cowboy a bit about life.
Rounding out the cast are Dakota Yohe as Carl the bus driver, and Desiree Mason as Grace, the restaurant’s owner, who apparently have had eyes for each other for some time. Their interaction is a hoot, particularly as the audience realizes the “lonely” cafe owner may not be as lonely as originally thought.
Inge’s references to places common to most Kansans, such as Topeka and Washburn University, should carry a special appeal for local audiences.
But those, like elaborate props, aren’t needed, thanks to the scintillating characters brought to life by the ACCC actors, under the direction of Tony Piazza.
They make it so the audience, most assuredly, does not want to miss this “Stop.”
