Bus Stop at USC

USC Theatre South Carolina presents William Inge's Bus Stop Nov. 12 - 21

Several strangers are forced to spend a long night together in Theatre South Carolina's production of William Inge's classic comedy, Bus Stop.

Senior E.G. Heard as Cherie

Bus Stop takes place in a 1950s Kansas diner that also serves as a bus stop. During one very snowy night, a small group of travelers is forced to stay at the diner because the road is blocked by the snow. The characters include Grace, the owner of the diner; Dr. Lyman, who is running from his past; and Bo, a cowboy who has kidnaped Cherie, a lounge singer with whom he had a one-night fling, to bring her back to his ranch in Montana.

Junior Patrick Kelly as Bo

USC's production of Bus Stop is directed by guest director George Black. Black was the director of theater at the University of Virginia and was co-founder and artistic director of the Heritage Repertory Theatre, a professional company that originated the production of A Few Good Men. He became producing artistic director of Theatre Virginia in Richmond in 1992 and has directed numerous shows for them, including A Comedy of Errors, Arcadia, and Moon Over Buffalo. He also produced Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with Tamara Tunie headlining an African-American cast.

Bus Stop always has been one of the most popular plays in American theater, and for good reason," said Brown. "Few plays have such immediately recognizable and engaging characters dealing with intensely human challenges of identity and relationship. The characters and the action are delineated so well and are so full of vitality that they produce a wonderfully theatrical mix of laughter and tears that makes the play an unusually satisfying evening in the theater."

The cast includes E.G. Heard as Cherie, Patrick Kelly as Bo, and Maxine DuPuis as Grace.

The play runs Nov. 12–21 at Drayton Hall. Tickets are $14 for general admission, $12 for seniors and USC faculty/staff, and $10 for students. Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at 7-2551. Curtain times are 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, contact the department of theatre and dance at 7-4288.

10/04