Bus Stop (play)
Encyclopedia
Bus Stop is a 1955 play
by William Inge
. The 1956
film
is only loosely based upon it.
during a snowstorm from which bus passengers must take shelter. The characters are:
as Bo and Kim Stanley
as Cherie and was directed by Harold Clurman
.
The play was nominated for four Tony Awards in 1956: Best Play
(written by William Inge; produced by Robert Whitehead and Roger L. Stevens
); Best Featured Actress in a Play
(Elaine Stritch
); Best Scenic Design (Boris Aronson
); and Best Director
(Harold Clurman).
In 1996 there was a short-lived revival of the play that ran for 29 performances.
that played at the New Vic and Stephen Joseph Theatres. The Guardian wrote of this production that "there is something beguiling about this forlorn slice of Americana, which meditates on the distances between towns and the distances between people, like an Edward Hopper painting with dialogue."
, directed by Peter Hunt. It starred Tim Matheson
as Bo Decker and Margot Kidder
as Cherie.
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
by William Inge
William Inge
William Motter Inge was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s, he had a string of memorable Broadway productions, and one of these, Picnic, earned him a Pulitzer Prize...
. The 1956
1956 in film
The year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
film
Bus Stop (film)
Bus Stop is a 1956 film directed by Joshua Logan for 20th Century Fox, starring Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Arthur O'Connell, Betty Field, Eileen Heckart, Robert Bray and Hope Lange...
is only loosely based upon it.
Characters
Bus Stop is a drama, with romantic and some comedic elements. It is set in a diner in rural Kansas, about 20 miles west of Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
during a snowstorm from which bus passengers must take shelter. The characters are:
- Grace Hoylard — Owner of the diner, a "grass widow". She is fortyish, and pretty in a fading, hard-bitten way. She has a passionate side to her nature, loving a good fight and the attentions of a good man.
- Elma Duckworth - An intelligent, but naive and impressionable high school girl. She is Grace's waitress.
- Will Masters — The local sheriff. Tough as nails and brusque in manner, but goodhearted and a staunch Christian, described as a "deacon of his church". A highly "moral" man in the general sense of the word.
- Dr. Gerald Lyman — A college philosophy professor who is articulate and charming but cannot hold a position, partially due to his resistance to any kind of authority, and partially due to his unfortunate taste for young women. He also has an obvious drinking problem.
- Cherie — A pretty young woman who comes from a difficult "hill folk" background, and has left her innocence far behind. She is an aspiring nightclub singer, but has never worked in any establishment above the level of "cheap dive".
- Bo Decker — A brash young cowboy with boorish manners that hide a naivete almost as profound as Elma's. He has convinced himself that Cherie will be his bride, though Cherie wants nothing to do with him.
- Virgil Blessing — An older, wiser cowboy who has become a father figure to Bo (who was orphaned at the age of ten) as well as Bo's head ranch hand.
- Carl — The bus driver, who has an ongoing "just passing through" relationship with Grace. As referenced repeatedly, this is purely sexual in nature.
Synopsis
The play is set in a diner about 30 miles west of Kansas City in early March 1955. A freak snowstorm has halted the progress of the bus, and the eight characters (five on the bus) have a weather-enforced layover in the diner from approximately 1 to 5 a.m. Romantic or quasi-romantic relationships ensue between Grace and Carl, Professor Lyman and Elma and Cherie and Bo. Virgil and Will are the older authority figures outside the relationships.Broadway
Bus Stop opened on March 2, 1955 and closed on April 21, 1956, running for a total of 478 performances. The opening night cast starred Albert SalmiAlbert Salmi
Albert Salmi was an American actor.-Biography:Albert Salmi was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Finnish immigrant parents, and following a stint in the Army, took up acting as a career, studying Method acting with Lee Strasberg. In 1955, Salmi starred in Bus Stop on Broadway...
as Bo and Kim Stanley
Kim Stanley
Kim Stanley was an American actress, primarily in television and theatre, but with occasional film performances....
as Cherie and was directed by Harold Clurman
Harold Clurman
Harold Edgar Clurman was a visionary American theatre director and drama critic, "one of the most influential in the United States". He was most notable as one of the three founders of the New York City's Group Theatre...
.
The play was nominated for four Tony Awards in 1956: Best Play
Tony Award for Best Play
The Tony Award for Best Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theatre, including musical theatre, honoring productions on Broadway in New York. It currently takes place in mid-June each year.There was no award in the Tony's first year...
(written by William Inge; produced by Robert Whitehead and Roger L. Stevens
Roger L. Stevens
Roger Lacey Stevens was an American theatrical producer, arts administrator, and a real estate executive. He is the founding Chairman of both the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts , and National Endowment for the Arts .Born in Detroit, Michigan, Stevens was educated at The Choate School in...
); Best Featured Actress in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
This is a list of winners and nomination of the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress. The award was first presented in 1947.-1940s:* 1947: Patricia Neal – Another Part of the Forest* 1949: Shirley Booth – Goodbye, My Fancy-1950s:...
(Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs...
); Best Scenic Design (Boris Aronson
Boris Aronson
Boris Aronson was an American scenic designer for Broadway and Yiddish theatre. He won the Tony Award for Scenic Design six times in his career.-Biography:...
); and Best Director
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play
The Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play has been given since 1960. Before 1960 there was only one award for both play direction and musical direction, then in 1960 the award was split into two categories: Dramatic and Musical. In 1976 the Dramatic category was renamed to Play...
(Harold Clurman).
In 1996 there was a short-lived revival of the play that ran for 29 performances.
Revivals
In 2010 and 2011 Bus Stop received three productions in Great Britain including an acclaimed production directed by James DacreJames Dacre
-Selected work:*As You Like It by William Shakespeare * World Premiere of The Mountaintop by Katori Hall , 2010 Olivier Award for Best New Play, nominated for a further five Olivier, Whatsonstage and Evening Standard Awards*King James Bible *Judgement Day by Mike Poulton, after When We...
that played at the New Vic and Stephen Joseph Theatres. The Guardian wrote of this production that "there is something beguiling about this forlorn slice of Americana, which meditates on the distances between towns and the distances between people, like an Edward Hopper painting with dialogue."
Television
In August 1982, Bus Stop was presented on HBO, a special filmed performance of the play at the Claremont Theater in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, directed by Peter Hunt. It starred Tim Matheson
Tim Matheson
Tim Matheson is an American actor, director and producer. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the smooth-talking Eric 'Otter' Stratton in the 1978 comedy National Lampoon's Animal House and has had a variety of other well-known roles, including providing the voice of the lead character...
as Bo Decker and Margot Kidder
Margot Kidder
Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
as Cherie.
External links
- Bus Stop at the Boston University Theatre ArtsEditor.com article