Whyfore Art Thou Romeo?
from Stephanie
I am sorry to report that you won't find a lick of cheese at Grace's Diner. No rye bread. No alcohol. But you will find a beguiling cast, some day old donuts, and, if you're strong enough, the love of your life. Not everybody does find love, you know. And that's exactly what has made William Inge's Bus Stop such a long-time success. The Centre Stage production, directed by Chip Egan, is no exception.
When the bus to Topeka gets snowed in at a sleepy Kansas diner, more than one person is in danger of being “mow-lested,” as Bo would say. He's the moody, milk-spewing cowboy that Matthew Merrit plays to a melodramatic Texas-T, and he's doing half of the mow-lestin' hisself. He's dragging Cherie, the kind-hearted “chanteuse” (Katie Martin—she's more charming than Marilyn ever was) to a ranch in Montana—against her will. And there's Elma Duckworth (Meghan Wallace), the high school waitress who is being slowly seduced by the alcoholic Professor Lyman (J. Michael Craig).
Craig offers one of the two stand-out performances of the evening. I shudder to say it, but you'll love this would-be pedophile. For starters, he's the only one who realizes that everyone is in danger, not just the girls. They're all in danger of succumbing to their own selfishness and isolation. They're in danger of hoarding up love “in our bosoms forever, where it withers and dies. Then we never know love, only its facsimiles, which we seek over and over again in meaningless repetition.”
The full weight of Lyman's philosophy comes crashing down on him during a drunken re-enactment of the Romeo & Juliet balcony scene. It's worth the price of admission just to witness Lyman's emotional pyrotechnics. He imbues Romeo's speech with an ironic self-loathing and is utterly transformed by Shakespeare's words coming out of his mouth. Compared to Romeo, he's just “a drunken, unruly child.”
According to this measure, he's not the only child in the room, the wife-nabbing Bo being chief among them. Even Carl and Grace (Beau Phillips and Kelly Wallace), with their “mature” lovers' tryst are just toying with each other, neither willing to give up something of the self to the other. Thankfully, there are enough open-hearted characters to keep these childish shenanigans from getting out of hand. The local sheriff and deacon (Steven Griffith) is one. Virgil Blessing is the other. He's Bo's fatherly side-kick, and Richard Beveridge's portrayal of him is the second stand out performance of the evening. He's so easy and lovable and salt-of-the-earth real that you want to run right on stage and hug the man.
But nobody does hug Virgil. It's enough to make a girl cry. That's the Old Black Magic at work in this production: you are never served so much happy ending that your taste buds cloy. There's just enough wisdom and just enough love to leave your heart aching for more.
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William Inge's “Bus Stop” directed by Chip Egan, with Richard Beveridge (Virgil Blessing), J. Michael Craig (Dr. Gerald Lyman), Steven Griffith (Will Masters), Beau Phillips (Carl), Kelly Wallace (Grace Hoylard), Katie Martin (Cherie), Meghan Wallace (Elma Duckworth), Matthew Merritt (Bo Decker).
Scene Design by Lesly Preston; Costume Design by Carol Robbins; Sound Design by Christoph Kress. Presented by Centre Stage, 501 River Street, Greenville, SC (864) 233-6733. Through November 1. Tickets $25, with discounts for seniors and students.
Published on October 17, 2008 at 3:06 pm | Permalink | 0 Comments
