![\"Don](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/thumbnail_IMG_5360-e1544549483880.jpg\")
<\/a>Don Murray. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the big one of the set at the top of the page.<\/p><\/div>\n
Before I laud it all more specifically, I have to tell you this: I was feeling a tad bad that I couldn\u2019t make it to the opening night, (we bon vivettes are always overbooked,) not<\/em> because of missing the after-party, but because I could have given you all more time to see this show.\u00a0 But I\u2019m absolutely thrilled that I chose this particular day to see it because there was a handsome gent sitting across the aisle from me.\u00a0 And he turned-out to be\u2026Don Murray, the original Oscar-nominated cowboy in the film!!!\u00a0 OMG!\u00a0 (I\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t realize it until he was celebrated after<\/em> the show because I would have just watched him<\/em> the whole time, instead of the stage<\/em>!)<\/p>\n Now getting back to my review of this production, it\u2019s perfect on every level\u2014the casting, the set, the staging, the direction, even the wardrobe.<\/p>\n The lobby display. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Someone did me a favor right when I sat down, by letting me know that nothing sad happens in the play. So I\u2019m paying it forward to those of you who, like me, might assume that there would be a fair degree of heartbreak since the movie version of Bus Stop<\/em> stars Marilyn Monroe. And it\u2019s written by William Inge, most of whose works are way too angst-filled for me. I would have been a nervous wreck the whole time otherwise, waiting for the scenario to all go south.<\/p>\n So I was happy to discover that this is mainly a charming comedy. Now<\/em> I feel bad that I\u2019ve eschewed every version of it my whole life! If the others were as good as Theatre 40\u2019s rendition of Bus Stop<\/em>, I\u2019ve really missed-out. I\u2019m thrilled to have finally rectified that decision.<\/p>\n The experience is welcoming from the minute one enters the theatre.\u00a0 Jeff Rack\u2019s \u201950s diner set is his best one ever.\u00a0 And that\u2019s saying something!\u00a0 I wanted to belly-up to the counter and order a ham and cheese on rye.<\/p>\n (L-R) Niko Boles, Gary Ballard, Shawn Savage, and Kaitlin Huwe. Photo by Ed Krieger.<\/p><\/div>\n Outside of that, I don\u2019t know where to begin my specific observations of Bus Stop<\/em>.\u00a0 But being my shallow self, I have to say that I\u2019m happy that two cute guys are in it!\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen them in other productions here, but this is both of their best work so far.\u00a0 Shawn Savage\u00a0is spot-on as the town sheriff.\u00a0 He reminded me of all my cute cop pals in Aspen, (who were kind enough to only make believe<\/em> that they were going to take me in!,)\u00a0so he\u2019s very believable in this role.<\/p>\n (L-R) Shawn Savage, Kaitlin Huwe, Niko Boles, Gary Ballard, and Mani Yarosh. Photo by Ed Krieger.<\/p><\/div>\n And Nico Boles is absolutely adorable as Bo, the naive cowboy. On top of that,\u00a0he drinks a whole bottle of milk on stage!!!\u00a0\u00a0(I didn\u2019t actually witness<\/em> him do that, because our attention was directed elsewhere, but it was put down in front of him right in the front of the stage, and a few minutes later, I noticed that it was empty!\u00a0 There was no place he could have thrown it out, like in a plant, so he\u00a0must<\/em>\u00a0have downed the whole thing! Or maybe it was just white water. But it sure looked like the real thing. I want to see this show again just to get to the bottom of it. The mystery, not the bottle.)<\/p>\n (L-R) Mani Yarosh, Jack Sundmacher, Gary Ballard. Photo by Ed Krieger.<\/p><\/div>\n While I\u2019m on the actors, let me give props to the entire excellent cast.\u00a0 But the stand-out for me is Mani Yarosh.\u00a0 She impressed me so much as the smart, young, hick waitress; I can see her working in the biz for a long time to come.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all brought cleverly together by director Ann Hearn Tobolowsky. Her staging, which I\u2019m sure was a very tricky proposition from the get-go, is perfection! It\u2019s not easy to keep eight characters moving around pretty realistically at all times, and she accomplishes that feat beautifully.<\/p>\n Michele Schultz and David Datz. Photo by Ed Krieger.<\/p><\/div>\n On a personal note, I sometimes wish that I lived in simpler times like the ones portrayed in this show. I occasionally wish that I could just pick-up a phone, (a land line, of course,) and simply say something like, \u201cMabel? Get me Doc.\u201d (Well, I guess I can<\/em> say that to Siri. But you know what I mean.) But one line in this show made me happy I was not around in those days. The woman who owns the diner that houses the action tells her young waitress that guys don\u2019t like girls who are smarter than they<\/em> are. That means that I<\/em> would have had no<\/em> dates back then! I\u2019m glad that most of the males I\u2019ve known through my life are more evolved than that.<\/p>\n I just hope that everyone<\/em> is smart enough to go see Bus Stop<\/em> at Theatre 40 this week! Tickets to this show would make a wonderful holiday gift, to both your guests and<\/em> yourself!!! You can thank me later.<\/p>\n Bus Stop<\/em>\u00a0running through December 16, 2018<\/strong> BUS STOP The good news is that Theatre 40\u2019s production of the classic William Inge play,\u00a0Bus Stop, is the best show I\u2019ve ever seen in this iconic Beverly Hills theatre!\u00a0 And I\u2019ve seen a lot of their works over the past five years or so.\u00a0 The bad news is that sadly, this is the last<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Theatre 40 \u00a0241 S. Moreno Drive \u00a0Beverly Hills \u00a0310-364-0535 \u00a0www.theatre40.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"