BUS STOP Extends at Olney Theatre Center To March 21

Olney Theatre Center's acclaimed production of Bus Stop has been extended to March 21. Noted director/actor/writer Austin Pendleton has directed "a glowing production" of Bus Stop, according to The Washington Post. The Gazette says Olney's staging of the play is "worth checking out."

Bus Stop plays the Mainstage now through March 21. Tickets are $26 to $49, with discounts available to groups, seniors, military, and students. Call the Box Office at 301.924.3400 or visit olneytheatre.org for tickets and information. (Please see the attached "Fact Sheet" for more details.)

In the midst of a howling blizzard, a busload of passengers holes up in a roadside diner outside Kansas City. On the bus is a nightclub chanteuse named Cherie, who is being pursued by Bo, a cowboy who wants to sling her over his shoulder and carry her off to Montana. Overnight, the owner of the café and the bus driver explore a long-overdue friendship, an aging scholar learns a valuable lesson, and love, with a touch of humility, appears unexpectedly in this classic romantic comedy by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, William Inge.

Born in Independence, Kansas, in 1913, Inge was a professor and drama critic before writing his first play in 1947. He dramatized the melancholy, humor, and simple heroism of common folks and Midwestern life. In addition to Bus Stop, his body of work includes Come Back, Little Sheba; Picnic (Pulitzer Prize); The Dark at the Top of the Stairs; and Splendor in the Grass (Academy Award).

The 1955 Broadway production of Bus Stop featured Elaine Stritch as Grace. She received her first Tony Award nomination (Best Featured Actress in a Play) for the role. Bus Stop received three additional Tony nominations. The cast of the short-lived Broadway revival in 1996 included Billy Crudup as Bo and Mary-Louise Parker as Cherie. The film version of Bus Stop (1956) starred Marilyn Monroe as Cherie and Don Murray as Bo, and was directed by Joshua Logan. It was nominated for an Oscar and two Golden Globe Awards, among other awards.

Austin Pendleton, perhaps best known for his television roles on Homicide and Oz, has directed and performed on and off-Broadway, and is an ensemble member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He wrote and performed in Orson's Shadow, which received the L.A. Drama Critics Award for Best Writing. Last season in New York, he directed Michael Weller's Fifty Words, Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, and Tennessee Williams' Vieux Carre, with casts including such actors as Maggie Gylenhall, Peter Sarsgaard, Elizabeth Marvel, Denis O'Hare, Norbert Leo Butz, George Morfogen, and Pamela Payton-Wright. In addition to directing Bus Stop at Olney, Pendleton is directing Terrence McNally's new play, Golden Age, which is scheduled to play the Kennedy Center this spring after its world premiere in Philadelphia this month.

Boyd Harris makes his Olney debut as the driven-by-love cowboy Bo Decker. A graduate of the School at Steppenwolf, his Chicago credits include Picnic (Writers' Theatre), Hollow Lands (Steep Theatre), Flat Danny (2007 Rhino Fest), and Zombies from the Beyond (Backstage Theatre). The object of his affection, Cherie, is played by Jean Lichty, also an Olney first-timer. Most recently, she performed in the world premieres of Diane Amsterdam's short plays, Letting Billy and The Girl's Last Big Mistake, as well as in Bro with Kevin Bacon and Ethan Hawke. James Judy plays Virgil, Bo's friend and confidante. Also new to Olney audiences, Judy's Broadway credits include Into the Woods, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and A Christmas Carol. The final bus passenger, Dr. Gerald Lyman, is played by James Slaughter. Slaughter has appeared in more than 30 productions at Olney, including An Enemy of the People (Helen Hayes Award nomination), Democracy, and The Constant Wife. He most recently performed in The Solid Gold Cadillac at Studio Theatre.

Jane Summerhays plays Grace, the owner of the diner. A Catholic University graduate, Summerhays previously performed at Olney in Tonight at 8:30, The Miser, and Happy End. Her Broadway credits include The Wild Party, Lend Me a Tenor, Me and My Girl, Sugar Babies, and A Chorus Line. Helping Grace is young Elma, portrayed by Judith Ingber. Ingber last appeared at Olney in Call of the Wild. Other Washington area credits include Please Listen: A Musical Chaos (Open Drawer Theatre), What's a Little Death? (Infinite Stage), Girls and Dolls (Solas Nua Reading Series), and Through the Looking Glass (Capital Fringe Festival).

The other diner regulars are Carl, the bus driver, and Will Masters, the sheriff. Harry A. Winter (Carl) and Timmy Ray James (Will) were both seen at Olney in King of the Jews. Winter has performed in the National Tours of Gigi and Jolson: The Musical, and regionally in Show Boat, 1776, Allegro, and 110 in the Shade. James is well known to Washington audiences, with performances at Olney, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, Folger Theatre, and Signature Theatre, among others.

The creative team for Bus Stop includes Stephen Dobay (Scenic Designer), Kathleen Geldard (Costume Designer), Keith Parham (Lighting Designer), Chris Baine (Sound Designer), Anne Newsmith (Wig Designer), Leigh Wilson Smiley (Dialect Coach), Robb Hunter (Fight Director), and Renee E. Yancey (Stage Manager).

BOX OFFICE: 301.924.3400; olneytheatre.org

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