THE BUS STOPS HERE! Don’t miss it: The Huntington Theatre Company refuels Inge’s classic comedy BUS STOP and its season is off to a roaring start!

I must admit, I had my reservations, having never seen a theatrical production, and was only familiar with the dull 1956 Josh Logan movie in which Marilyn Monroe played Cherie.

Here under Nicky Martin’s pitch perfect direction, Nicole Rodenburg plays a sexy, feisty version of nightclub singer Cherie who has fallen into the clutches (literally) of a lovestruck cowboy who’s dragged her onto a bus bound for Montana– and matrimony. The action takes place at a bus stop diner where the passengers have been stranded overnight in a snowstorm, giving Inge the opportunity to explore the need for love in all of its guises. This cast–without exception- is extraordinarily winning and skilled, and makes the creaky formulaic premise truly entertaining and sympathetic, if not wholly believable. From Karen MacDonald and Will Lebow who provide ballast as seasoned lovers, to Noah Bean as Bo Decker, the hilariously out of control lovesick cowpoke in hot pursuit of his gal. And then there’s the adorable Ronete Levenson as the naively exuberant Elma, who steals the show as a latter day Juliet in a sides-splittingly funny re-enactment of Shakespeare’s balcony scene.

I also couldn’t take my eyes off James Noone’s evocative set with its snow falling faintly in the background, collecting in snowbanks that look like clouds, as though this bustop were floating in the center of the universe.

I was absolutely onboard–and I’m urging you to catch the bus.
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