Playwright: William Inge
At: Writers' Theatre, Glenco
Phone: ( 847 ) 242-6000; $45-$57
Runs through: March 26
By Jonathan Abarbanel
There's one in every crowd. Other reviews of Bus Stop have praised the show, but it left me indifferent. Not bored ( the script is too lively ) and not unentertained ( the good ensemble cast is too lively ) , but not emotionally engaged.
I felt the show on opening night wasn't clicking on all cylinders, which isn't uncommon. Shows grow and color after opening night as the cast relax into their characters and mesh with each other minus the distractions of technical rehearsals. Now two weeks into the run, the rough edges of Bus Stop may be smoothed out.
As it was, I was aware of the plot mechanics in which a disparate group of folks are thrown together when a Kansas blizzard forces bus passengers to spend all night in the cafe meant to be a 20-minute rest stop. It's not unlike The Petrified Forest or Lost or—going back to a far older prototype—Shakespeare's The Tempest. Bus Stop was both earthy and daring for its time ( 1955 ) , with a middle-aged couple shacking up, a predatory older man pursuing a naive girl and a young cowboy practically kidnapping the lap dancer of his dreams. But even in 1955, Bus Stop was light drama with liberal use of comedy and a happy-ish ending.
Rick Snyder, the Steppenwolf actor who's become an astute director, gives Bus Stop a respectful and respectable interpretation that breaks no fresh ground. He might have valued the comedy more, but that's a secondary issue. He reads nothing new into the two characters who most directly reflect playwright William Inge. First, there is drunk Shakespeare-spouting Professor Lyman, who's "disapproved of my entire life." Inge was an alcoholic, a professor and a closeted, conflicted, self-loathing gay man. The only difference between Inge and Dr. Lyman ( played with beautiful pathos by William Brown ) is that Inge lusted after young men, not young women.
Even more interesting is Virgil Blessing ( How's THAT name for symbollic? ) , the self-sacrificing, older cowhand who's raised the play's young cowboy/stud/hero like a father, an older brother or a would-be lover, only to be left in the cold quite literally. Virgil REALLY represents the love that dare not speak its name for Inge and is, therefore, the least well-developed character. Snyder leaves it that way.
My regular readers know that rarely do I lay a production's weakness at the feet of a single actor, but Cliff Chamberlain didn't convince me as cowboy Bo Decker. He moved as if he'd never worn cowboy boots before; he looked uncomfortable, or at very least not at home, in Bo's physical persona. Hey, boots and broncos need to be broken in. Maybe Chamberlain has relaxed into his footwear and the play along with all the Bus Stop entourage.