Waiting for a Bus…

A late spring prairie snow storm is certainly a familiar experience in this part of the country, and it serves as the plot device behind the action in the “Bus Stop” (although it’s set in Kansas rather than North Dakota). The 1955 William Inge play is a classic of American theatre, and the hit romantic comedy-drama was adapted (with several notable changes) into a classic 1956 film starring Marilyn Monroe.

The UND Department of Theatre Arts production of “Bus Stop” opened Tuesday, directed by Dr. Mary Cutler. Performances continue nightly at 7:30 p.m. through Saturday on the main stage of the Burtness Theatre, wrapping up this semester’s season. Tickets are $12, or $6 for students. There is also a special 10 a.m. Friday show for area schools.

“Bus Stop” is one of those single-location scripts that throws several diverse strangers together during a brief but stressful period, so that they and the audience can learn a few things about human nature. In this case, it is set over one night at a small-town diner with eight very different characters.
Grace, the feisty working-class owner, Elma, the naïve but well-read teenage waitress, and Will, the firm but understanding local sheriff (Tomas Grande) must deal with Carl, the amorous but rootless bus driver, and his four assorted passengers, all stranded at the café until the weather clears. The passengers include Cherie, a young and pretty but world-worn nightclub singer, Bo Decker, an impetuous young cowboy determined to marry her despite her protests, Bo’s ranch hand and old mentor Virgil, and Dr. Lyman, a slightly mysterious and usually intoxicated former English professor with a weakness for young women.

Fire Hall theatre veterans Trish McGuire and Steve Kraft have a wonderful on-stage chemistry as Grace and Carl, as well as contributing a wider age range to the cast than usually seen in a university production with all-student casts.

The pivotal roles of Cherie and Bo are very effectively handled by Kim Mortenson and David Coulter. These two characters are the ones who change the most during the course of the play, and both actors portray their growth believably and with sensitivity, especially in the play’s final act. Mortenson’s Cherie is at first headstrong and self-determined victim, gradually revealing her own participation in her somewhat sordid past, and coming to a self-realization about her future. Coulter is especially strong in his development from an egotistical and irritating redneck into a caring and humble suitor for Cherie’s attentions.

Jared Fladeland, likewise, is a strong and sensitive Virgil, whose interactions with Bo and Cherie do much to motivate their re-evaluation of their opinions. The casting of actors so close in age as Virgil and Bo brings out unspoken implications perhaps beyond the paternal affection in the original script in this post-“Brokeback Mountain” era.

Britney Sudmann gives Elma an eager earnestness that makes her young waitress one of the group’s guiding forces, an obvious influence on how the other characters deal with their present predicament. Elma is well-attuned to the needs of all the customers, and her yearning for culture instantly warms her to the philosophic Dr. Lyman.

Joe Mack is a bit young as the aging, disreputable professor. However, he does a good job delivering some of the play’s best lines, and manages the difficult task of making Lyman both slightly creepy and sympathetic at the same time. Tomas Grande is fine as the young sheriff of the town, especially in his handling of Bo during the final act.

The entire cast gets better as the play progresses, with somewhat overly broad performances at the start that settle into more natural characters as events develop.

“Bus Stop” is sometimes wrongly criticized as a superficial and stereotyped comedy-romance. It could easily be played that way, but Inge’s dialogue penetrates timeless human emotions and situations with a resonance that gives it a modern edge a half-century later. The comedy merely softens Inge’s darker observations. UND’s production gives the audience that deeper look into human nature and the lonely struggle to survive while maintaining one’s sanity and a certain amount of happiness. It might just as well have been set in present-day North Dakota rather than 1950s Kansas.

If You Go

WHAT: “Bus Stop”
WHERE: Burtness Theatre, UND
WHEN: through Sat., Apr 19, 7:30pm
HOW MUCH: $12, students $6
INFO: (701) 777-3446, 777-3522