RIVER CITY PLAYERS OPEN UP WITH 'BUS STOP' (A REVIEW)

Cast members looked on as Cherie (Fawna Gillette Jones) performed "That Old Black Magic" during a rehearsal of "Bus Stop." Jackson USA Signal/Mark Evans

Although Jackson personnel is limited to behind-the-scenes work in the River City Players' rendition of William Inge's "Bus Stop" this weekend, the performance is well worth the drive to the Cape Girardeau Riverfront.

Fruitland's Suzanne Scherer is in the director's chair as the Players tackle Inge's 1955 romantic classic, to open their 2000 theater season. Most of the cast members are making their RCP debut. Nevertheless, Scherer and her assistant, LeAnne Statler, seem to have pulled off a strong rendition of the Inge classic. Jackson business owner Ann Swanson is handling lighting and sound.

The action centers around Grace's Diner, a hole-in-the-wall diner in rural, eastern Kansas. A snowstorm forces a bus to stop for most of the night. Much of the plot centers around Cherie, a young nightclub dancer in Kansas City, who is not long out of the Missouri Ozarks, and young, headstrong Montana rancher Bo Decker.

Decker (Jeff Quigley) and Cherie (Fawna Gillette Jones) had had an encounter following one of her performances. In Bo's mind, the intimacy equals an engagement. When they reach the diner, Cherie is desperately seeking escape from the stubborn cowboy, who has taken her by force, headed for matrimony on his Montana ranch.

Her plight brings Bo and his friend Virgil Blessing (Lloyd Williams) into conflict with the local sheriff, Will Masters (Rich Behring), as well as causing chaos in the diner.

Meanwhile, the proprietor, Grace Hoyland (Debbie Barnhouse) sleeps out for a clandestine meeting with Carl, the bus driver (her real life husband, Randy Barnhouse). At the same time, lecherous lush, Dr. Gerald Lyman (Mike Beecher) is making advances on starry-eyed teenage waitress Elma Duckworth (Carly Pind).

At first glance, Inge's characters might appear to be cardboard stereotypes. Closer inspection, though, shows true human qualities in each. Grace, for all her toughness and pluck, is desperately lonely. Will came across his moral bearings the hard way. Dr. Lyman is running from himself and seems, in the end, to be gaining some resolve to change. Finally, Cherie and Bo, for all their bravado, are both highly insecure and vulnerable.

Although it contains none of the River City Players' frequent faces (other than Debbie Barnhouse, who appeared in Night of the 16th), the cast does a fine job in bringing these below-the-surface qualities to life.

Williams (who had not acted since college and happened to see a sign advertising auditions) and Behring are strong as the low-keyed ranch hand and sheriff respectively, while the Barnhouse's look natural together as Grace and Carl. Debbie Barnhouse, on stage much of the performance, is especially strong throughout.

Pind and Beecher compliment each other well as the drunken ex-professor and the innocent adolescent. Pind, a 15-year-old in her first legitimate theater role, gives promise of great things to come. Energetic and sparkling, she steps into the perky teen waitress' role in fine fashion. Beecher, meanwhile, is humorous to watch, yet brings enough realism into the role to bring out the pathos of the collapsed scholar.

Quigley and Jones, finally, fill their billing as the leads. Quigley, a former standup comic, is also making his first dramatic appearance since college. He is perfect as the swaggering, raw-mannered young cowpoke, who honestly can't understand how Cherie could NOT be in love with him. He turns what could become a cartoon character in the wrong hands, into a believable human being.

Jones, a veteran of professional theater and numerous beauty pageants, returns to the stage after a hiatus of several years, with a powerful performance as the sultry 19-year-old singer. Her stage presence, musical ability (singing "That Old Black Magic" acapella with much commotion going on around her) and energy add a great boost to an already strong production.

Although the show was reviewed prior to dress rehearsal and without all the sound effects ready, it clearly appears to be a show any theater-goer would enjoy.

The show began with 8 p.m. performances Friday and Saturday night. It continues Feb. 17 with a 7 p.m. no-dinner production. The dinner theater then resumes with 8 p.m. shows Feb. 18-19 in the Yacht Club. Dinner theater prices are $19.50 per person, while the Feb. 17 admission is $7. More information is available by contacting Port Cape at 334-0954 or by e-mail, at portcape@clas.net.