THEATRE + COMEDY

The Grand 1894 Opera House presents Montana Repertory Theatre:  Bus Stop, Friday, March 18, 2011 at 8pm. William Inge's charming classic explores the perils of modern romance.

In this warm, affecting, iconic 1950s stage play, a group of down-home characters interact in a street corner restaurant during the course of one hilariously turbulent night, As this group of strangers interacts with one another, they begin to recognize that their lives are truly intertwined, and that each individual can affect others in subtle and profound ways.

Frustration, tears, and laughter result as characters are forced to confront their own motivations. Romance blossoms, and love banishes loneliness. As Inge demonstrates in this winning tale, a lot can happen in a single night!

For many of us who grew to awareness in the 1950s, Bus Stop is a classic American story. Marilyn Monroe’s entrance in the film version is imbedded in our consciousness. William Inge's biggest hit and his only out-and-out comedy, Bus Stop truly exemplifies America's postwar awakening and introduces characters that have since become new cultural icons.

Inge's American masterpiece still speaks to us in the new century. Rich with character and plot and the message that "we're all in this together," Bus Stop shows that our lives are truly intertwined; we affect each other in subtle and profound ways as we go about our daily lives. Few playwrights are able to make the everyday universal and the commonplace the stuff of great theatre. Inge is one of these playwrights.

It is with great pleasure that Montana Rep presents the work of this American master. We trust you will find in him, as we have, a font of insight, tenderness, soulful understanding, great heart, and rollicking, life-affirming humor. Welcome to the world of William Inge––you will not leave unchanged.

Greg Johnson, Artistic Director, Montana Repertory Theatre.

Click here to learn more about this production.

Now one of the oldest and most respected touring companies in the country, Montana Repertory Theatre was established as a professional touring company in 1967, providing professional theatre to our own and neighboring Western states at an affordable cost. Our mission is to tell the great stories of our world to enlighten, develop, and celebrate the human spirit in an ever-expanding community.

Montana Rep assembles principle actors, directors, and designers with prestigious credits, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, national tours of Broadway shows, and major regional theatre credits. Beginning in 1992, the Montana Rep inaugurated an expanded residency program, perfect for high school assembles and classrooms, for which study guides are provided. Residency activities are also supplemented by standard professional theatre workshops.

With 1994-95 tours of Broadway Bound and Smoke on the Mountain, we centered our activities in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, California, Texas, and Nebraska. In 1996 we toured The Sunshine Boys and added additional Midwestern states to the tour. The 1997 and 1998 tours marked the Rep's first full-fledged national tours with To Kill a Mockingbird, traveling from California to New York. The Rep has continued our national touring presence with It's a Wonderful Life, The Diary of Anne Frank, Death of a Salesman, The Miracle Worker, A Streetcar Named Desire, Steel Magnolias, The Trip to Bountiful, Lost in Yonkers, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Leading Ladies. In addition, our Educational Outreach Tour serves over fifty rural communities across Montana, presenting plays based on American and world literature.

Montana Repertory Theatre is funded in part by a grant from the Montana Arts Council (an agency of state government), with support from the Montana State Legislature, The University of Montana, the Montana Cultural Trust, and Dr. Cathy Capps. This funding helps us maintain the most affordable fees of any comparable theatre on the road today.

Montana Rep delivers a theatrical experience in its entirety, bringing with it everything from lighting to sound design. Completely self-contained, the Rep offers presenters large and small––in facilities ranging from new performing arts centers to high school gyms––the opportunity to enjoy first-class theatre.