Top-flight ‘Bus Stop’ puts shine on Interplayers
“Bus Stop” is a heartening experience all by itself, with its vividly drawn characters and its gentle Andy-of-Mayberry style of humor. The standing ovation at the end was, among other things, a tribute to playwright William Inge’s sympathetic attitude toward the show’s lonely – yet hopeful – drifters, cowboys, nightclub floozies and waitresses.
Even more heartening on Saturday night was the transformation evident at the venue itself. It was great to see Interplayers return to its characteristic energy, professionalism and high production values. Spokane’s longtime professional theater has had a rough few years, but Saturday night felt like old times.
It began with two increasingly rare sights: a sold-out house and an elaborate set design. The Interplayers thrust stage was filled with a full ‘50s style diner, complete with a five-stool counter, coffeemakers and a green-and-cream checkerboard floor. It wouldn’t have surprised me to see hamburgers sizzling on a working grill. Clearly, this set was designed by a pro, and not on a shoestring.
A glance at the program revealed that the set designer was Desma Murphy, an accomplished L.A. set designer and winner of three Ovation Awards and a Drama Critics Circle Lifetime Achievement Award.
The quality also showed in the cast, which was a combination of top local talent and L.A. veterans. L.A. actor Jonathan Rau certainly acquitted himself well in the central role of Bo, a rambunctious yet socially clueless 21-year-old cowboy. Rau has some of his Uncle John Travolta’s looks and plenty of his cocky stage presence as well (no, Uncle John was not in attendance Saturday night).
Rau was a whirling dervish of energy, bouncing around the stage like Tigger in cowboy boots, starting fights and bellowing his love for the nightclub singer Cherie like a young bull. Rau is a natural in this role.
Yet the local talent was more quietly impressive. Inge’s story is an ensemble piece, in which he allows us time to meet all eight of the bus stop’s denizens, stranded by a blizzard. Christine Cresswell flashed a 100-watt smile all night as the 16-year-old waitress Emma. It was a smile of girlish naiveté, but also of glee at the adult world that awaited her.
Maynard Villers was warm, sympathetic and knowing as the small-town sheriff, Will Masters – a character who surely became a template for Sheriff Andy Taylor in years to come. Maybe the best supporting performance came from the brilliant Damon Abdallah, who played Bo’s laconic cowboy pal, Virgil. He haltingly advised Bo that if he wanted to win Cherie’s heart, he might stop bullying her and try being tender – and in his cowboy baritone, the word came out “ten-durr.”
Then there were the two performers with combined local and Hollywood credentials. Ellen Travolta was winning as Grace, the “grass widow” character she first played 30 years ago with brother John. Her husband, Jack Bannon, was one of the play’s treasures with his subtle and complex portrayal of the refined – yet drunken and self-pitying – English professor, Dr. Lyman.
L.A. director Scott Alan Smith handled these characters and subplots with seamless skill. Often, he would isolate a character in a small cinematic pool of light (lighting designed by Brian Ritter) while the rest of the café faded into gray. This was our invitation to zero in on that character’s life and mind.
Even better was Smith’s ability to emphasize the gentle heart of this play without allowing it to slip into sentimentality. The main thread of the plot shows Bo and Cherie finally managing to connect. Yet make no mistake, loneliness is still Inge’s prevailing theme. Smith leaves us, at the end, with a heartbreaking image of Virgil, sitting out in the cold, in every sense of the phrase.
Can Interplayers remain at this high, professional level all season? This is not the time to worry about that. This is the time to enjoy it while we have it.