|
|
|
No matter what the production, no matter what the setting, no matter what the time period, you can guarantee that the theatre department of Henderson State University will put together a set as impressive as any Broadway production.
The stage they have put together for “Bus Stop” is one of the best you can find in a college play. Period.
The story, as the title suggest, takes place at a “Bus Stop,” and the small, homespun, diner-like restaurant that has been crafted feels real. The menu above the counter has a list of tasty dishes coupled with 1950s prices written carefully in chalk. The signs across the wall are perfectly vintage. The brick pillars that appear to be holding up the set look like they were built into the theater.
And cooking takes place on stage. Quite literally a young waitress scrambles eggs on a working stove on stage. How they have accomplished all of this, I don’t know- but it’s impressive.
Instructor of theatre Douglas Gilpin is in charge of the scenery, as well as being the director, and I certainly believe that he is more than earning his paycheck. Very well done.
The play is also a fascinating story. It’s a comedy-drama concerning a group of people who gather at a bus stop outside of Kansas City during the early a.m. hours when a snowstorm leaves a bus stranded.
The customers include a headstrong, simple-minded cowboy, and a nightclub singer he hopes to marry. Only problem: she doesn’t love him, and he doesn’t get it.
All of the actors turn in great performances, but I think my favorite might be the cowboy’s long-suffering best friend Virgil, or Virg, played by Ryan Quin. Virg speaks slow and easy with a ranch-bred accent, and softly, simply observes life in a matter-of-fact way that Quin pulls off wonderfully.
The show is not a short one, but it’s never boring through its three acts. Gilpin expertly directs the action so to keep things moving the whole time. More importantly, though, the characters are interesting enough to hold the attention of the audience the whole time, even during the points where the drama takes center stage.
In addition to Quin, the cowboy, Bo, is played by Gregory Caplan; Andrea Butler is Cherie, the nightclub singer; Thomas Moore is Dr. Lyman; Sara Miller is Elma; Thomas Cooper is Will; Emily Kirks plays Grace; and Ethan Jones plays Carl.
There will be additional performances tonight and Nov. 18, 19 and 20 at 7.30 p.m. in Arkansas Hall on Henderson’s campus.
Tickets may be purchased in advance at the box office in Arkansas Hall from 1 to 4 p.m. weekdays. Admission is eight dollars, or free with a Henderson student ID.
To make reservations or for more information, call 230-5291, or e-mail theatre@hsu.edu.
No matter what the production, no matter what the setting, no matter what the time period, you can guarantee that the theatre department of Henderson State University will put together a set as impressive as any Broadway production.
The stage they have put together for “Bus Stop” is one of the best you can find in a college play. Period.
The story, as the title suggest, takes place at a “Bus Stop,” and the small, homespun, diner-like restaurant that has been crafted feels real. The menu above the counter has a list of tasty dishes coupled with 1950s prices written carefully in chalk. The signs across the wall are perfectly vintage. The brick pillars that appear to be holding up the set look like they were built into the theater.
And cooking takes place on stage. Quite literally a young waitress scrambles eggs on a working stove on stage. How they have accomplished all of this, I don’t know- but it’s impressive.
Instructor of theatre Douglas Gilpin is in charge of the scenery, as well as being the director, and I certainly believe that he is more than earning his paycheck. Very well done.
The play is also a fascinating story. It’s a comedy-drama concerning a group of people who gather at a bus stop outside of Kansas City during the early a.m. hours when a snowstorm leaves a bus stranded.
The customers include a headstrong, simple-minded cowboy, and a nightclub singer he hopes to marry. Only problem: she doesn’t love him, and he doesn’t get it.
All of the actors turn in great performances, but I think my favorite might be the cowboy’s long-suffering best friend Virgil, or Virg, played by Ryan Quin. Virg speaks slow and easy with a ranch-bred accent, and softly, simply observes life in a matter-of-fact way that Quin pulls off wonderfully.
The show is not a short one, but it’s never boring through its three acts. Gilpin expertly directs the action so to keep things moving the whole time. More importantly, though, the characters are interesting enough to hold the attention of the audience the whole time, even during the points where the drama takes center stage.
In addition to Quin, the cowboy, Bo, is played by Gregory Caplan; Andrea Butler is Cherie, the nightclub singer; Thomas Moore is Dr. Lyman; Sara Miller is Elma; Thomas Cooper is Will; Emily Kirks plays Grace; and Ethan Jones plays Carl.
There will be additional performances tonight and Nov. 18, 19 and 20 at 7.30 p.m. in Arkansas Hall on Henderson’s campus.
Tickets may be purchased in advance at the box office in Arkansas Hall from 1 to 4 p.m. weekdays. Admission is eight dollars, or free with a Henderson student ID.
To make reservations or for more information, call 230-5291, or e-mail theatre@hsu.edu.
