L - R Jack Sundmacher, Kaitlin Huwe, Gary Ballard, Niko Boles, Mani Yarosh |
By Joe Straw
Bus Stop, by William Inge and directed by Ann Hearn
Tobolowsky, is now playing through December 16, 2018 at Theatre 40 on the
campus of Beverly Hills High School. And
as always, parking is free!
In this dingy dinner, the donuts are what you’d expect, hard,
under glass, and a couple of days old. Two for a nickel sounds right for a hard
swallow and a nice cup of joe.
There are slightly stained swivel chairs, Formica
countertops, and duct tape patches on the holes of the diminishing dining
chairs. About the best thing you could say about this eating establishment is
that it is clean. Which is remarkable because there’s a privy outside in the
back, and everyone must scrape every scrap of mud off his or her shoes before coming in.
The dining establishment’s floor is so clean that you could
almost eat off it.
It says a lot about Jeff G. Rack Set Design that although
everything is somehow not quite right in this diner, things can surely get
better.
For the time being, this one-horse town is a rest stop for
weary bus travelers. It is a slight respite from the malignant odor of a much-travelled
Topeka bus heading for destinations unforeseen and places forgone to the west.
Kansas never had it so good, or so bad for that matter. A
little diner tucked away about thirty miles west of Kansas City, Missouri, or
Kansas City, Kansas whichever you prefer.
The time is one A.M, sometime in the early ‘50’s, a blizzard
has hit, snow has accumulated on the window seals, and the waitresses are preparing
for a bus coming in because of a road closure west of the diner.
As Grace (Michele Schultz), the owner, and Elma (Mani
Yarosh), high-school aged waitress, await the bus riders, they chat about all
kinds of things, like Grace’s missing husband, Barton (not seen), her loneliness,
and Elma’s good grades in school.
Sheriff Will Masters (Shawn Savage), mackinaw and all, without
a gun, comes into the shop to tell them the bus is almost there and wondering
if he could get a fresh cup of coffee.
“It just went through, Will. Fresh as ya could want it.” – Grace
And just after the bus stops Cherie (Kaitlin Huwe), a
nightclub singer with questionable abilities, runs in, suitcase in tow, asking
to be hid. Will, always wanting to help anyone in trouble hears Cherie’s plea, “I
need protection.”
“What from?” – Will
“There’s a cowboy after me.” -- Cherie
Will gets the story – about her abduction to Montana by a
mean cowboy – and he says he will protect her.
And as Elma talks up Will’s ability to take on any man, a man
comes into the diner.
Not the cowboy, it is Dr. Gerald Lyman (Jack Sundmacher),
slightly inebriated.
“Ah! ‘This castle hath a pleasant seat.’” – Dr. Lyman – (Macbeth by
William Shakespeare – Act I scene VI)
Dr. Lyman, somewhat ignorant about geography, seems slightly
confused as to where he is at the moment. Carl (David Datz), the bus driver,
explains exactly where he is.
Undeterred, Dr. Lyman warms himself by the heater. Then he
sees Elma and his eyes light up at this young high school student.
“’Nymph in thy orison, be all my sins remembered.’” – Dr. Lyman (Hamlet
by William – Act 3 scene 1)
Elma is a little confused by Dr. Lyman’s rattling off
Shakespeare at any given moment and doesn’t know how to respond. The doctor orders a rye whiskey on the rocks.
That ain’t going to work in this diner that only serves
sandwiches, soft drinks, bakeries, and coffee.
Will, takes a look around at the patrons and asks Carl if
that’s it. No, and Carl warns him about
two cowboys sleeping in the back of the bus – Bo (Niko Boles), the young mean
cowboy, and Virgil Blessing (Gary Ballard), his companion.
“I’d jest as soon they stayed where they’re at. One of ‘em’s a real troublemaker. You know the kind, first time off a ranch and
wild as a bronco. He’s been on the make
fer this li’l blonde down here.” – Carl
L - R Niko Boles, Gary Ballard, Shawn Savage, Kaitlin Huwe |
There are exceptional performances in this production of Bus
Stop. It is slow to start but manages to
gather steam and then soars. And, as the
performance end, one is wrap up in the humanity of it all and sent out of the
theatre bundled in the warmth of empathy.
Ann Hearn Tobolowsky,
the director, defines the humanity of each character in ways that allow us to zero
in on an expression and also a defining moment in the character’s arch. Those moments ring beautifully, soulfully, and
capture a feeling of not wanting this night to end.
Still, I have some observations to share. Take what you
like, discard the rest.
Gary Ballard as
Virgil Blessing. The name Virgil implies
a philosopher which he is as he tries to reason with Bo and teach him the ways
with women. The relationship between
these two could have been stronger, almost a father and son but came off as
sidekick, which he is not. The ending
between these two should have us all in tears but the relationship never got to
that point. Ballard’s guitar playing was
magnificent and worked beautifully with the song All or Nothing at All (1939 Music by Arthur Altman, lyrics by Jack
Lawrence). How can we have an effective ending for Virgil?
Niko Boles had
his moment as Bo, a young man who is not really that mean. He walks in with his legs spread like he’s
been riding horses all day and takes a drink of a quarter of a gallon of milk
in two gulps, dripping some down his chin as he finishes it. But during those
moments he took his eyes of the prize, which he should never do. Inquisitiveness was one thing lacking in the
way he approaches his romantic interest when things aren’t going his way. One
would like to see an emotional ending to his relationship to Virgil, torn
between his girlfriend and the man that took care of him after his parents
passed away. Although the character of
Bo could be a little more refined, still some very good work.
Michele Schultz, David Datz |
David Datz also
had his moments as Carl. Datz has a natural presence in a defined
character. His objective was clear in
words but not necessarily in action. He takes his eyes off the prize during the
quiet moments before leaving the diner to go for a supposedly long walk. The imaginary rope must be tied to his love
interest before he leaves.
Kaitlin Huwe
presents a grand figure as Cherie. The
song, All or Nothing at All, was just
superb. It was interesting that they
chose the song to be pitch perfect. If
she is that good, she should dump the guy and go straight to Hollywood. And maybe it is one reason she goes to
Montana, not entirely because of the charm of the cowboy. That aside, Huwe does some amazing work as
the night progresses and as she decides to stay with Bo. Her entry on stage needs work, more to highlight
of who she is and what she is.
Shawn Savage as
Sheriff Will Master also does a terrific but is pretty much low key in his character.
One wonder if there is any more to this character, the sheriff without a gun.
Is there is more to the man than his fists?
The young waitress praises the sheriff on his strength and virility but
that goes by like ships in the night. One wonders if there is a stronger choice
for this character, his objective, and how that relates to his interactions
with the other characters.
Michele Schultz
gave just the right touch to Grace. She
was very funny and gave the character a lot of strength and resolve. Was there a point where she invites the bus
drive up to her place? If there was, one
didn’t see it. And, is there more to the
ending and the relationship with the other man before she closes the door on
him? The ending is very sad and leaves
us with little to know that more is coming.
L - R Mani Yarosh, Jack Sundmacher, Gary Ballard |
Jack Sundmacher
plays Dr. Lyman. The rumbled suits fits,
the inebriated self gives him a façade, but the core of the character needs a
little work. It needs definition to give him a stronger center. Once he sees
the young waitress, nothing should stop him, except perhaps his inner demons.
Professors are unique, each one, in their way of action and expressions. Let’s find some ways to give this character
life. The relationship to the waitress
should be stronger, almost to the point of being unhealthily close. The
collapse is a moment that needs highlighting. It could be presented in many
different ways, it could even be ambiguous, but it has to involve her, his
life, and what he chooses to be at this point.
Mani Yarosh does
some fine work as Elma, squinting eyes and a broad smile plays into her naivety. The scene where she finds out that someone
loves her is as beautiful a moment as one could have on stage. Some wonderful work.
David Hunt Stafford wonderfully produced this production.
Don Solosan was
the Stage Manager.
Michéle Young,
Costume Designer, did a beautiful job with the costumes.
Brandon Barush
was responsible for the Lighting Design.
Joseph “Sloe”
Slawinski was the Sound Designer and provided original music.
Richard Carner is
the Assistant Stage Manager, and Susan Mermet is the Assistant Director.
Ed Kreiger as the
photographer and Philip Sokoloff did
the publicity.
Richard Hoyt Miller
did the program design.
Run! Run! And take a lascivious professor!
Reservations and information: 310-364-0535
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