The play "Bus Stop" by William Inge follows a group of passengers stranded at a diner during a snowstorm. Bo kidnaps Cherie and plans to marry her, but she has no interest in him. Throughout the play, Bo matures and realizes Cherie does not love him. Meanwhile, Dr. Lyman charms the waitress Elma, though he has a history of illegal behavior with young women. Grace, the diner owner, and Carl flirt despite Grace being married. The characters each seek happiness through changing themselves or their circumstances.

1. Bus Stop
Playwright: William Inge
Powerpoint by:Kaylan Stubblefield

2. Characters
Bo Decker:
Elma Duckworth:
Bo is a young ranch owner in his twenties who lives in
Montana. He is a rough cowboy who has been raised
around a bunch of men and doesn’t know how treat a
woman. His demeanor is childish in the beginning of the
play, but we see his character grow into more of man at
the end of the play.
Elma is a young high school girl that works with Grace at
her restaurant. Grace tends to be a sweet yet naïve girl
who has a lot to learn about love.
Carl:
Carl is the bus driver in the play. He is a big man with a
good spirit. Carl tends to have a thing for Grace.
Cherie:
Cherie is a young woman in her early twenties, who
makes a living as a chanteuse. Her family resided in a
rather small country town. She is an attractive blonde
that Bo falls in love with in the play.
Dr. Gerald Lyman:
In the play, Dr. Lyman is a former professor in his fifties.
Despite his age, he looks of a boyish nature. He charms
miss Elma throughout the play, and let’s the audience
see that there is something amiss with this drunken soul.
Grace Hoylard:
Grace is the owner of the restaurant in the play. She
tends to like Carl even though she is married.
However, her spouse is not presently living with her at
the time. Grace seems to be upset with her love life.
Virgil Blessing:
In the play, Virgil is constantly looking after Bo making
sure to try and keep him out of trouble. Virgil is in his
forties and has no woman in his life, which he seems to
make clear that he regrets some decisions he had made
in his past. He is a very calm and reasonable character in
this play.
Will Masters:
Will Masters is the sheriff in the play. He is a reasonably
large man that gives a humble vibe. Will is the one in the
play that makes Bo realize he needs to change his
childish ways.

3. Cast for Bus Stop
Bo Decker
Carl
Cherie
Dr. Gerald Lyman
Elma Duckworth
Grace Hoylard
Virgil Blessing
Will Masters
-
Norman Reedus
Pruitt Taylor Vince
Emma Bell
Johnny Depp
Evanna Lynch
Melissa Ponzio
Christopher Cousins
David Morrissey

4. Norman Reedus (Bo Decker)
Evanna Lynch (Elma Duckworth)
Age: 44; Appearances on Walking Dead,
Blade 2, The Boondock Saints I and II. He
gives off a young, outdoorsy look. He also
has experience playing a rough character.
Age: 22; Appearances on Harry Potter(s)
and Sinbad. Her youthful appearance and
experience working in the Harry Potter(s)
give her a good disposition for acting as
Elma.
Pruit Taylor Vince (Carl)
Melissa Ponzio (Grace Hoylard)
Age 53; Appearances in Constantine, The
legend of 1900, Monster, Natural Born
Killers, Walking Dead etc. He would suit
Carl’s disposition in the play very well.
Age: 41; Appearances on Teen Wolf,
Walking Dead, and Life As We Know It. Her
age matches Grace’s very well and she has
prior acting in roles of an independent
woman.
Emma Bell (Cherie)
Christopher Cousins (Virgil Blessing)
Age: 26; Appearance in Walking Dead,
Frozen, Final Destination 5 etc. Her youthful
attributes make her a very plausible choice
in acting as Cherie.
Age: 53; Appearances in Breaking Bad,
Untraceable, The Grudge 2, One Life to
Live etc.
Johnny Depp (Dr. Gerald Lyman)
David Morrissey (Will Masters)
Age: 50; Appearances in Edward
Scissorhands, Alice in Wonderland, Pirates
of the Caribbean etc. He is a very versatile
actor, accustomed to playing very odd roles
in a very good manor.
Age: 49; Appearances on Walking Dead,
Blitz, and The Other Boleyn Girl. He gives
off an appearance resembling an
authoritative figure. The height (6’3”) and
bulkiness makes him great for this
character.

5. In the play “Bus Stop”, the winter time weather occurring in March in Kansas
state keeps a bus going to its destination. So during the delay the occupants
stay in a restaurant owned by Grace. Among the Occupants are Cherie, Bo,
Virgil, Carl, and Dr. Lyman who brought along some extra baggage: drama. Bo
has kidnapped Cherie and planned on taking her back to Montana with him
and marry her. However, Cherie has no intentions of letting this follow
through. Throughout the course of the play, Bo is brought to realization that
Cherie did not love him and faces the fact that he needs to change from a boy
to a man. While this takes place Dr. Lyman charms Elma, the young waitress
at the restaurant. In the end it is revealed that Dr. Lyman has a past with
young girls and getting in trouble with the law of this obsession. In the midst
of all this drama Grace and Carl are off together with their infidelity, which
they are not fooling anyone over.
Summary

6. Spine
•
•
•
•
The spine of the play can be “trying to reach happiness”.
This can be seen in Bo trying to get a wife to make him happy.
Grace tries to fill the empty void that she has by talking to Carl.
Dr. Lyman is trying to find happiness in young girls, alcohol, and traveling.
Cherie tries to improve her living situation through her singing.

7. Themes
• Change and Transformation in Oneself
– This theme is best shown through Bo. He is the prime
example in this play. In the play, he must change from a boy
to a man in order to get the one he loves. Another example
could be with Dr. Lyman. In order to better himself, he must
eventually change his ways and views about authoritative
figures, drunken habits, and taste in women.

8. Style
The style that could be used in this particular play could be
Naturalism. However, the stage props are not expected to “work”.
For example, the oven and such appliances are for looks not use. This
play covers only a particular moment in life (a couple of hours), not a
whole persons lifetime.

9. Directorial Concept
For this play we will be using “concept and period”.
We will be sticking to the time period in the script
and portraying the same concepts and ideas.

10. Works Cited
"Christopher Cousins." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Cosgrove Baylis, Sheila. "Bus Stop Charms At Hampton Theatre Company." Hamptons.com. Hamptons.com, 9
Oct. 2008. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
"David Morrissey." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"Emma Bell." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"Evanna Lynch." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Guare, John. "The Gallery Players." The Gallery Players. The Gallery Players, 12 Sept. 2009. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"Hotel." Parade Teater Realis Bagian 2, Pentaskan "Surat Pada Gubernur" Jogja, 8 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Nov.
2013.
Inge, William. Bus Stop. New York: Random House, 1955. Print.
Joe. "Category » Teater." Jogja News. Jogja News, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"Johnny Depp." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"Melissa Ponzio." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"Norman Reedus." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"Pruitt Taylor Vince." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Simmons, Russ. "OffStage: March 2010." OffStage: March 2010. OffStage, 31 Mar. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.