Bus Stop

William Inge's Bus Stop, an allegory about a wayward lot of passengers stranded at a diner in a snowstorm, is playing out at the Olney Theatre Center (to 3/21) and their cumulative foibles make for a most entertaining night of theater. This ship of fools - travelers and crew - comes with plenty of baggage; how they unpack it serves as a lesson for us all.

Helping with the luggage, if not the journey, is the expert direction of Austin Pendleton and an extremely well-cast group of actors. Mr. Pendleton's subtle hand is at work throughout in this Chekhovian examination of the human condition, with true-to-life pacing, movement, and tone, which this wonderful ensemble of performers - collectively and individually - works to capture.

Inge has taken stock characters and situations and made them interesting. Like a canvas that has been layered repeatedly, the final work of art has a depth and substance - arresting almost - more than the some of its parts. On the surface there's a Tall Tale of Paul Bunyanesque proportion about a blustering cowboy named Bo (Boyd Harris) and reluctant singer known as Cherie (Jean Lichty) who he is attempting to take back, more or less against her will, to his ranch and marry. There's also an updated Western featuring a sassy diner owner Grace (Jane Summerhays) and her man-of-the-moment bus driver Carl (Harry A. Winter); a strong and virtuous sheriff called Will (Timmy Ray James); a guitar strumming sidekick known as Virgil (James Judy); and an ingénue waitress named Elma (Judith Ingber).

Finally, in this post-World War II mid-50s saga, there's a Theater of Philosophy, an existential angst, that hangs over the action, largely articulated through the voice of Dr. Gerald Lyman (James Slaughter). The characters are thrown into the world they inhabit, each required to make some choice, to make their way though life as best they can. Sartre's Being and Nothingness could not have been far from the mind of the playwright.

Each of the principal (and some of the minor) characters wants or lacks something, but he or she has to give up something to attain it. The tradeoff largely centers on matters of love - of the other or self - and freedom. At the conclusion each one will have gained an insight into an emotional blind spot and either resolve or come to terms with it. Life is a banquet for some, for others a solitary meal.

Though the tale revolves around the central figures of Bo and Cherie, it's their inner motivations and those of the accompanying characters that drive the many subplots which make the play so compelling. (The movie version, with Don Murray and Marilyn Monroe, opened up the plot around these figures, but it was much to the detriment of the rest of the story.) Grace and Carl have a simmering relationship which boils over into an upstairs rendezvous. Meanwhile the suavely predatory Dr Lyman delivers a bunch of killer lines which the gullible Elma (and to a certain extent Cherie) lap up. Good guy Will's got his hands full with Bo as does Virgil, and the young cowboy who's been spoiling for a fist fight will get his wish before the night is over.

There are some poignant moments of improvisation along the way when Virgil, Elma and Dr. Lyman, and finally Cherie get to bare their inner voices during an impromptu "show." Almost laughable in their mediocrity, their inhibition and utter sincerity, with deft direction and nuanced acting, render this scene touching in its immediacy. Also look for the evocative lines of the bibulous doctor on the educational and social mores of the times throughout.

All of the performances serve the characters and play well, but especially deserving of mention is Mr. Slaughter who gives a delightfully world-weary portrayal as Dr. Lyman and Ms. Lichty in her role as Cherie played alternately as assertive and flighty.

The scenic design of Stephan Dobey captures the seedy splendor of the period, from which the sometimes functional, often attractive costuming of Kathleen Geldard allows the characters to emerge. Sound designer Jarett Pisani has the "hawk at the door," with the underscored howling wind, conveying the bittersweet nature of the personal sagas with guitar twangs between acts. The lighting of Keith Parham is the surprise design star in this show, casting a probing eye into each and every emotional moment.

Those theatergoers who can get past the conventionalities of the storyline - including the slightly improbable flip of Cherie at the end - will find many rewards in this character-driven play. Save the movie for later.

Sound check: Sound level intensities were excellent - low to medium throughout - but clarity was off at times. The theater acoustics need tweaking during the next off-season; there's no reason to have to amplify actors voices in such a small space.

Program notes: Good with comments from both the artistic director and director. Patron education would be enhanced with the inclusion of dramaturgy notes either as hardcopy and/or on the website which could use revision.

Applause meter: Highly recommended, 3 ½ hands.

Runtime: About 95 minutes with no intermission

Photo credits: Stan Barouh