Bus Stop

by William Inge

Directed by Marianne Ries

March 12, 13, 14, 1970

   The Story  

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 twenty-one-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 pauses to furrow her forehead and muse, "Somehow deep inside of me I got a funny feeling I'm gonna end up in Montana." As a counterpoint to the main romance, the proprietor of the cafe and the bus driver at last 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 also gets her first taste of romance.

Produced by special arrangement with Dramatist Play Service.

  The Cast   

Elma Duckworth	Becky Frederking
Grace Hoylard	Dorothy Dobbs
Will Masters	Warren Andreas
Cheri	Pat Johnson
Dr. Gerald Lyman	Kebt Collinson
Carl	Jim Butler
Virgil Blessing	Ned Graham
Bo Decker	Tom Herlocker

  Production Staff   

Director	Marianne Ries
Assistant to Director	Phyllis Parmenter
Stage Manager	Bruce Rogers
Set Design	Yvonne Eckert, Warren Brown
Scenery	Moris Birch, Suzanne Birch, Troy Boucher, Gene Branscum, Helen Branscum, Tom Bossi, Bill Dexter, Yvonne Eckert, David Fell, Cheryl Fruits, Jayne Fruits, Gil Gentry, Judy Gentry, Carol Havely, John Havely, Roy Kempf, Errol Lambert, Walter Nichols, Tom Ries, Don Wilson
Costumes	Kathryn Workman*, Norma Bossi, Doly Cook, Fran Kempf, Pat Steadman
Properties	Betty Wilson*, Norma Bossi, Claire Graham, Sheila Ferris, Cheryl Fruits, Eleanor Richardson
Lighting and Sound	Bill Wilber, Lynn Wilber
Make-up	Jane Lamb, Jane Cherveny
Publicity & Promotions	Sue Welch*, Betty Wilson
Programs	Cheryl Fruits
Cover Design	Cheryl Fruits, Don Wilson
Photographs	Stan Reimer
Display Signs	Jim Bailey, Fred Boggs, Roy Kempf
Concessions	Francis Platt*, Norma Bossi, Claire Graham, Sheila Ferris, Cheryl Fruits, Eleanor Richardson, Betty Wilson
House Manager	Mr. & Mrs. David Fell
Ushers	Kim Harp, Kate Ries, Kelle Ries, Kristi Kline, Sarah Johnson, Beverly Olson, Bonnie Bergdall, Carol Blythe, Cydne Fell, Diane Havely, Renae Dewell

*Chairperson