Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (May 28, 2008)
Mkamas Print ulture 5 Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Loneliness Vercomeat Bus Stop ^■Walters Editor ^^^^■reacherously blustery night, a long hiatus of the at a®m street-comer diner in a blink-and-you’H-miss-it sas tdSis caused by blocked roads. ^^Kome is a relieving of lonesomeness of the heart ^Kn a couple other cases. >uch isyc central theme of Clackamas’ current theatre pro- Stop,” the myriad of differing desires, including infatuwon and, I dare say, even love. Jwned b . a jaded 40-something woman named Grace to is aBost never at a loss for words or sexual appetite - the r normally serves as a 20-minute pit stop for the bus from . sas City It’s a place of employment for naïve, yet quick- j^^^Kirl Elma Duckworth. t also «the sole backdrop for the play. specifically focuses on the few hours of the Grace’s Diner by the bus riders, plus the driver J Will Masters, is a staunch man with a deep and has never been licked in a fight, except Photos by John Shufelt Clackamas Print TOP: Elma, a young waitress at Grace’s Diner, listens in raptureous intent to bus passenger Cherie talk about sex, her job as a nightclub singer and cowboy Bo Decker. BOTTOMr LEFT: Grace, the owner of the diner, pours a mug of hot coffee for Sheriff Will Masters as they wait for the bus to arrive. for once. Will waits for the bus to arrive with the diner women so that he can inform the driver that night, Cari, that he can go no further until foe weather and roads clear up. The first passenger to enter is a 19-year-old, glitzy-dressed nightclub singer from Kansas City who calls herself Cherie. Immediately following the bus’ screedung halt outside, Cherie rushes in with a battered suitcase to seek refuge and asks Will for his protection. The object of her fear is wealthy cowboy Bo Decker, who she claims abducted her to bring to his Montana ranch asavrifeT Bo and his father figure, Virgil Blessing, are asleep on the bus, and Cherie uses the opportunity to attempt an escape. The only other passen ger, grey-haired Dr. Gerald Lyman, soon follows. He fix ates with pedophilic delight on Elma behind the counter and sit uates himself close by in order to engage her in conversation. Carl enters and, after passing on a couple suspicious com ments about his passengers to Will and arousing the cowboys, excuses himself to go for a “walk.” A couple of minutes later, suddenly stricken with a “head ache,” Grace retires to her upstairs apartment Neither of the two are seen again for quite awhile, which leaves the diner’s operations in the capable hands of young Elma. With Will prompting her and keeping a watchful eye, Cherie soon communicates to Bo that she doesn’t want to go with him. Hiding under a mask of brutish manners and seemingly cocky exterior, Bo refuses to take no for an answer. Throughout the rest of the three-act play, Bo is gently advised tty the Cahn Virgil to be “tender” to Cherie rather than maul her, and Will is ever-ready to stand in between the cowboy and “his woman” when Bo’s temper flares. In the meantime, Dr. Lyman spouts sonnets from Shakespeare and regales Elma with tales of his three ex-wives and past as a professor, staring lecherously all the while and producing a flask to fuel his penchant for alcohol. Blending dirty humor, underlying tones of realism and foe small-town mental ity into an intriguing cocktail, William Inge’s “Bus Stop” can easily be understood by foe modem college audience. Clackamas’ rendition is well worth foe price of a ticket because of foe commendable acting by members of foe col lege’s student body - both veterans and newcomers alike. Showings of "Bus Step” start at 7:30 pan. May 29,30 and 31, with foe final show Sunday, June 1, at 2:30 p.m. Ticket cost is $12 for general admission and staff, and $10 for seniors or students with a college ID card. For further information, contact Theatre Department Secretary Jennifer Schwartzman at ext 2356 or by e-mail at jens@clackamas.edu. Blending dirty humor, underlying tones of realism and the small town mentality into an intriguing cocktail, William Inge’s “Bus Stop” can easily be understood by the modern college audience. Two bands competed in the Battle of the Bands at Clackamas on Wednesday, May 21. - Compiled by Robert Crawford
