Bus Stop cast flawless

Romance can happen anywhere at anytime, even while being stranded overnight at a roadside café.

At least that’s what William Inge’s Bus Stop suggests. Under the direction of Alice Butler, North Lake Theatre Company’s March 9 production of the play captured the hope of romantic relationships through its sterling cast and gripping dialogue.

Set in the heart of the Midwest during the 1950s, Bus Stop brings together eight odd souls in a small town diner. Four snow-bound bus passengers take refuge for the night during a blizzard.

As soon as the bus drops off its weary passengers at the diner, romance blossoms between the diner owner Grace (Jasmine Sadry) and the macho bus driver Carl (Eloy Corral, II). They view the extended overnight stay as just an opportunity to unravel their hidden feelings for each other. Grace finds an excuse in having a headache to spend time with Carl at her apartment.

Dr. Lyman (Christopher Boyd), an elderly former college professor with an affinity for young girls and alcohol, has his chance to craft his act. He uses the stopover to court Elma (Colleen Carroll), a book smart, but naïve diner waitress. As a subplot, the teenage waitress is aware that Dr. Lyman has lascivious designs on her, but in the end falls short of becoming the predator’s love interest.

The enticing romance that takes center stage involves the rocky relationship between the wild young rodeo cowboy, Bo (Charles Reed), and the nightclub singer Cherie (Nikki Greco). Returning from a rodeo show to his Montana ranch with an older, stoic sidekick, Virgil (Ryan Rocha), the lovesick cowboy has made Cherie his unwilling fiancée and forced her into the same bus without her consent.

Bus Stop also highlights the coming of age of the brash and boisterous Bo. For most of his life, Bo has been confined to his ranch and accustomed to always getting his way. He thinks he can just rope Cherie up like cattle and take her home. When Cherie tries to seek protection from the stern sheriff, Will (Dustin Sautter), the hardheaded, unruly cowboy refuses to accept any meddling and challenges the sheriff to a fistfight.

In one of the key scenes, the brawling showdown between Bo and Will was superbly staged behind the diner’s glass window but still visible to the audience.

Kudos to Butler for such a flawless ensemble of cast. Butler also used a creative directorial touch to add an extra character, Sam (Marc McDowell), who had no lines, in the first scene. Sam gave the audience the impression that the diner has its regular patrons.

Sadry excelled in her over-thetop performance as Grace through her exemplary acting and fluid speech. Not only could Sadry articulate well, but she was also natural and hilarious in her portrayal of the street-smart diner owner in desperate search for love.

Another shining star was Carroll as the Shakespeare-loving teenage waitress, Elma. Like Sadry, Carroll was charming while deftly performing routine tasks such as cooking, clearing tables and sweeping the fl oor. To add an atmosphere of realism, Carroll actually cooked real sausage, bacon and eggs, and brewed coffee on stage. It brought the dining experience right before the audience, although the aroma was perhaps too subtle to waft over the entire auditorium.

There was no sight of a snowstorm outside the café, but the sound of the howling wind when the door opened was enough to make the performance more realistic.

However, the performance was not without a hitch.

As the play progressed, from time to time Cherie seemed to lose her Southern accent and Dr. Lyman’s speech sometimes became garbled and less comprehensible. Also, all the characters, except Grace and Elma, ordered food or drinks. They consumed the food or drinks but no one seemed to care to pay for it. Cherie did pay a nickel for two donuts, but she never touched them at all. The stage design by Michael McKee and lighting by John Moseley made the stage bristle with life to illustrate a typical restaurant scene of the 1950s. However, the large sign with the word “kitchen” could have been replaced with a sign of “Grace’s Diner” or “Bus Stop Café.” While the doors, furniture and heater were all well-positioned to maximize visibility to the audience, the daily special menu behind the kitchen counter was hardly visible, even to the front-row audience.

The costume designs by Tory Padden portrayed the 1950s characters well. From Elma’s saddle shoes to Cherie’s bandeau and high-heel shoes to Dr. Lyman’s formal attire, all looked very appropriate. Overall, Bus Stop took the audience on an enjoyable, time-warp theatrical ride into the 1950’s Midwestern life and romance.