Last chance to catch 'Bus stop'

“Bus Stop,” the Theatre Company’s current production, has entered its final week of performances. 

The remaining dates are Feb. 23-25 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. at the Boll Family YMCA, 1401 Broadway, Detroit.

Created by William Inge, the play takes place in 1955 about 25 miles outside of Kansas City, Mo., when a group of individuals on a bus get stranded by a snowstorm.

The individuals are forced to pass the time in Grace’s, a nearby restaurant.

It is at the restaurant where five characters from the bus interact with three characters from the restaurant. They learn, challenge and befriend each other in dramatic, romantic and comedic ways.

For director Andrew Papas, the appeal of the play comes partly from the rich roles offered to both students and professionals. The Theatre Company always looks to perform plays where students can work with professional actors.

All of the characters play important roles in the development of the story.

Papas feels it unique that all characters have their own specific story lines, and that an array of themes surface as a result. 

“This play is like a fugue about the many aspects of love, meaning there is a lot of different types of love in the story,” said Papas. “There’s parental love, forbidden love, unrequited love. It’s not your stereotypical drama or romantic comedy.”

The main romantic storyline is between Cherie (Autumn Russell), a pretty woman and night club singer with a complex past, and Bo Decker (Dalton Hahn), a successful cowboy with a brash demeanor who fancies Cherie to be his bride, against her will.

Russell, a junior theatre minor, said that what makes her character so enjoyable is her ability to be unapologetically herself and to color outside the lines.

Finding considerable likenesses between herself and Cherie, Russell feels comfortable expressing herself through such a strong role.

It is enjoyable for her, as well as the audience, which is reflected by the audience’s captivation during her various scenes on stage.

Sarah Hirschmann, a sophomore language arts major, found the play to be informative and enjoyable. She recommends it for everyone. 

“The small set and cast made you feel like you were in the small town and restaurant that they were in too,” said Hirschmann. “It was quite humorous but the themes of loneliness, isolation and love all prevail.”

People often view the world as strictly black and white, and struggle with how to deal with people whose views differ from their own, something echoed by the Papas himself in his own reflection of the show’s importance.

“Bus Stop” challenges this view of the world.

For ticket info, call (313) 993-3270 or visit the theatre company’s website at udmARTS.com.