Bus Stop, a NAATCO production @ Classic Stage Company

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The Play: Bus Stop, the National Asian American Theatre Company’s maybe too entertaining revival of the 1955 dramedy about a motley group of lonely souls stranded in a roadside diner during a snowstorm

Written by: William Inge        Directed by: Jack Cummings III

One good thing: Although unavoidably haunted by some earlier performances (Kim Stanley and Elaine Stritch in the original Broadway production; and Marilyn Monroe, Eileen Heckart and Hope Lange in the movie) this production's female cast members Midori Francis, Cindy Cheung and Delphi Borich find ways to put their own distinctive spins on the desperate hunger for something more in life that so defines Inge’s work

One not-so-great thing:  The direction is slightly off; too much of the action in this “in-the-round” production faces just one part of the audience and leaning into the comedy so heavily undermines the play’s essential pathos


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