Huntington Theatre Company Opens 2010-2011 Season with BUS STOP, 9/17

The Huntington Theatre Company opens its 2010-2011 Season with Bus Stop, William Inge's American classic. Former Huntington artistic director Nicholas Martin returns to direct on The Huntington's main stage - the Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston.

The Huntington Theatre Company opens its 29th season with Bus Stop, the classic American romantic comedy by William Inge. Former Huntington Artistic Director Nicholas Martin (She Loves Me, Present Laughter, and The Sisters Rosensweig) returns to helm the production, marking the tenth anniversary of the start of his tenure, which ended in 2008. The ensemble cast includes Boston favorites Karen MacDonald (All My Sons and A Civil War Christmas at the Huntington) as Grace and Will LeBow (The Cherry Orchard and How Shakespeare Won the West at the Huntington) as Carl. Rising star Noah Bean (Love's Labour's Lost) returns to play Bo, the lovesick cowboy.

"William Inge had a timeless sense of humor," says current Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois. "This play, perhaps his greatest, has a profound feeling of openness and honesty. Inge was celebrated in his time, but I believe his plays are just hitting their finest moment. I know that Nicky will bring his terrific sense of comedy and warmth - so appreciated by Boston audiences - to bear in our production."

In Bus Stop, a snowstorm strands a bus outside of Kansas City, and its passengers - including a stubborn, lovestruck cowboy and the nightclub singer he hopes to marry - seek shelter and warmth at a roadside diner. The motley crew spends one night together, filled with bluster, heartache, and laughter, while searching for love.

Playwright William Inge's plays include Farther Off From Heaven (1947); Come Back, Little Sheba (1950), which earned him the title of "most promising playwright of the 1950 Broadway season;" Picnic (1952), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize, and the Drama Critics Circle, Outer Circle, and Theatre Club Awards; Bus Stop (1955), which he would later adapt into a popular film starring Marilyn Monroe; and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957). His later works include A Loss of Roses (1960); Splendor in the Grass (1961), for which he won an Academy Award; Natural Affection (1963); Where's Daddy? (1966); and The Last Pad (1970).

Bus Stop director Nicholas Martin served as artistic director of the Huntington from 2000 through 2008, receiving three IRNE Awards and the Norton Award for Sustained Excellence. He directed The Corn is Green, She Loves Me, Present Laughter, Persephone, The Cherry Orchard, Love's Labour' s Lost, The Sisters Rosensweig, Laughing Wild, The Rivals, Sonia Flew, The Rose Tattoo, Butley, Springtime for Henry, A Month in the Country, Observe the Sons of Ulster..., Betty's Summer Vacation, Hedda Gabler, Fully Committed, and Dead End for the Huntington. Broadway credits include Present Laughter, Butley, Match, Hedda Gabler, The Rehearsal, and You Never Can Tell. Off Broadway credits include Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them; Saturn Returns, The New Century, Observe the Sons of Ulster..., The Time of the Cuckoo, Chaucer in Rome; Fully Committed; Full Gallop; Betty's Summer Vacation (OBIE Award), Sophistry, and Bosoms and Neglect. Mr. Martin's tenure as artistic director of Williamstown Theatre Festival ends this summer.

"When the Huntington offered me Bus Stop, I seized the opportunity to mount a production by a major American playwright whose work I have always admired and wished to direct," says Martin. "Inge's skill at providing a Midwestern landscape for the most basic convolutions of sex and longing is always imbued with mid-century innocence and a depth that rivals early Williams and Miller. I have gathered a superb company of first-rate designers, some real acting surprises, and my old Boston friends. I am very, very happy to revisit the Huntington."

"Smart. Fun. Those two words kept coming up as we approached programming this season at the Huntington," says DuBois. "We have created a season of plays that promise to engage audiences deeply throughout the year - comedies with sharp perspectives, dramas with searing centers, and universal stories about families and relationships that stir, inspire, and leave us feeling more alive. Each play in next season's mix builds emotionally, intellectually, and stylistically on the shows that surround it. "

The cast of Bus Stop includes:
Noah Bean (Love's Labour's Lost at the Huntington; FX-TV's"Damages") as Bo, a young rancher and lovestruck cowboy; Adam LeFevre (Broadway productions of The Devil's Disciple, Summer and Smoke, and Guys and Dolls) as Will Masters, the town's sheriff; Will LeBow (The Corn is Green, The Cherry Orchard, The Rivals, and Sonia Flew at the Huntington; numerous productions at the American Repertory Theater) as Carl, the bus driver; Stephen Lee Anderson (Broadway productions of Julius Caesar, Wicked, and Fiddler on the Roof) as Virgil Blessing, fellow ranch hand and friend of Bo; Ronete Levenson (Lascivious Something at Women's Project/Cherry Lane Theatre; Our Town at the Barrow Street Theater) as Elma, a teenaged waitress at the restaurant;
Karen MacDonald (All My Sons and A Civil War Christmas at the Huntington, numerous productions at the A.R.T.) as Grace, diner owner and proprietor; Nicole Rodenburg (Slasher! at Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theater of Louisville) as Cherie, a chanteuse and nightclub starlet; and Henry Stram (Inherit the Wind, The Crucible, and Titanic on Broadway) as former college professor Dr. Gerald Lyman

The creative team for Bus Stop includes scenic designer James Noone (The Corn is Green, She Loves Me, and Rabbit Hole for the Huntington); costume designer Miranda Hoffman (A Civil War Christmas and Well for the Huntington); lighting designer Philip Rosenberg (She Loves Me for the Huntington); and sound designer Alex Neumann (The Atheist for the Huntington). Production stage manager is Leslie Sears; stage manager is Kevin Robert Fitzpatrick.

The Huntington's Grand Patron is Boston University. The 2010-2011 Season Sponsor is J. David Wimberly. Production Sponsors are Sherry and Gerry Cohen.

The Huntington Theatre Company is Boston's largest and most popular theatre company, hosting more than 66 Tony Award-winning artists, garnering 38 Elliot Norton Awards, and sending over a dozen shows to Broadway since its founding in 1982. In July 2008, Peter DuBois became the Huntington's third artistic leader and works in partnership with longtime Managing Director Michael Maso. In residence at and in partnership with Boston University, the Huntington is renowned for presenting seven outstanding productions each season, created by world-class artists and the most promising emerging talent, and reaching an annual audience of over 130,000. The Huntington has transferred more productions to Broadway than any other theatre in Boston, including seven plays by August Wilson, the recent production of Noël Coward's Present Laughter, and the Broadway hit and Tony Award-winner Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, which moved Off Broadway recently after over two years on Broadway.

In 2004, the Huntington opened the state-of-the-art Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, which includes 370-seat and 200-seat theatres to support the company's new works activities and to complement the company's 890-seat, Broadway-style main stage, the Boston University Theatre. By operating the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, the Huntington provides first-class facilities and audience services at significantly subsidized rates to dozens of Boston's most exciting small and mid-sized theatre companies. The Huntington also operates BostonTheatreScene.com, which provides all productions at the BCA or the B.U. Theatre with box office and online marketing services.

The Huntington is a national leader in the development and support of new plays, producing more than 50 New England, American, or world premieres in its 28-year history. The Huntington's nationally-recognized education programs have served more than 250,000 middle school and high school students in individual and group settings, and community programs bring theatre to the Deaf and blind communities, the elderly, and other underserved populations in the Greater Boston area. For more information, visit huntingtontheatre.org.

The Huntington's production of Bus Stop plays 34 performances, including 4 preview performances. Related pre- and post-show events are free with ticket purchase to any performance.

Tickets are $25-$89 and subscriptions are available now. Single tickets go on sale on August 15. Both are available online at huntingtontheatre.org; by phone at 617 266-0800, or in person at the B.U. Theatre Box Office, 264 Huntington Avenue or the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA Box Office, 527 Tremont Street in Boston's South End.

$5 senior and military discounts.
$10 Subscriber and B.U. Community discounts.
$25 "35 Below" tickets for patrons 35 years old and younger (valid I.D. required).
$25 back row of the balcony tickets.
$15 student rush seats (available 2 hrs. before curtain time for each performance; valid I.D. required).

Fri., September 17 at 8pm* 35 Below Wrap Party - $25 ticket includes performance and post-show party
Sat., September 18 at 8pm
Sun., September 19 at 7pm
Tues., September 21 at 7:30pm
Wed., September 22 at 7pm Opening/Press Review Night
Thurs., September 23 at 7:30pm *Post-show Out & About Club Reception (GLBT) - $40 tickets available with code "OUT"
Fri., September 24 at 10am* and 8pm *Audio-Described Student Matinee performance
Sat., September 25 at 2pm & 8pm
Sun., September 26 at 2pm
Tues., September 28 at 7:30pm
Wed., September 29 at 2pm & 7:30pm
Thurs., September 30 at 7:30pm *Post-show Actors Forum with cast members
Fri., October 1 at 8pm
Sat., October 2 at 2pm & 8pm
Sun., October 3 at 2pm * Post-show Humanities Forum
Tues., October 5 at 7:30pm
Wed., October 6 at 7:30pm
Thurs., October 7 at 7:30pm
Fri., October 8 at 8pm *American Sign Language-Interpreted performance
Sat., October 9 at 2pm & 8pm* Audio-Described performance
Sun., October 10 at 2pm & 7pm
Tues., October 12 at 7:30pm
Wed., October 13 at 2pm* 7:30pm Post-show Actors Forum with cast members
Thurs., October 14 at 7:30pm
Fri., October 15 at 8pm
Sat., October 16 at 2pm & 8pm
Sun., October 17 at 2pm

RSVP online at www.huntingtontheatre.org/news

Ongoing Post-Show Audience Conversations
The Huntington will continue to offer post-show audience discussions with members of the staff after select Tuesday - Friday, Saturday matinee, and Sunday matinee performances throughout the season. Free with a ticket to the performance. Schedule at huntingtontheatre.org/conversation.

Friday, September 17, following the 8pm performance
"35 Below" Wrap Party - Join audience members aged 21-35 for a post-show party. $25 ticket includes Bus Stop performance and party featuring live entertainment and free cocktails and refreshments. Buy online or through the Box Office. Learn more at huntingtontheatre.org/35Below.

Thursday, September 23, following the 7:30pm performance
Out & About Club - Join GLBT audience members at a post-show party. Use code OUT to purchase discounted tickets at $40 to this performance online. Learn more at huntingtontheatre.org/outabout.

Sunday, October 3, following the 2pm performance at the Boston University Theatre
Humanities Forum - A post-performance talk exploring the context and significance of Bus Stop featuring a local scholar (TBA). Learn more at huntingtontheatre.org/humanities.

Friday, September 24, following the 10am student matinee performance;
Thursday, September 30, following the 7:30pm performance;
Wednesday, October 13, following the 2pm performance - Actors Forum
Participating cast members answer questions from the audience. Learn more at huntingtontheatre.org/actors.

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