Brian DeToma is directing the next production at The Little Theater, Bus Stop. In William Inge’s drama, a busload of passengers find respite from a storm as well as friendship and romance.

Bus Stop begins when a bus is forced to stop at a cheerful roadside diner in Kansas City during a snowstorm. As a result of the delay, a disillusioned bar singer must deal a little longer with the attentions of a rowdy (but still wet behind the ears) young cowboy who insists he will marry her. The singer and the other passengers make personal connections and confront the dissatisfactions experienced in their own lives.

First produced on Broadway in 1955, Bus Stop continues to be popular because of modern audiences’s longing for a simpler, more innocent past. The 1956 film starring Marilyn Monroe was loosely based on the stage play.

The New York Times said the playwright “put together an uproarious comedy that never strays from the truth,” while The New York Post noted: “William Inge should be a great comfort to all of us ... he brings to the theatre a kind of warm-hearted compassion, creative vigor, freshness of approach and appreciation of average humanity that can be wonderfully touching and stimulating.”

The cast of the Town Players production includes Tony Benedetti, Clare Boyle, Christopher Cooney, Barbara Disraeli, Miles Everett, Leah Nashel, Tom Torpey and Steve Yudelson.

The production crew includes producers Lynn Alexander and Tracy Nashel, set designer Timothy Huebenthal, lighting designer Nick Kaye, lights and sound operator Becca Cardozo, and stage manager Terry Polvay.

Opening night is Friday, September 4. Curtain is 8 pm. Ticket holders on Friday will be invited to join the cast and crew for a post-performance champagne reception, celebrating both opening night and the fact that the production is a 2015 Newtown Arts Festival event.

Performances will continue Friday and Saturday evenings, until September 26, also at 8. Sunday afternoon matinees, with 2 pm curtain, are planned for September 13 and 20.

Tickets are $22 for evening performances, $18 for the matinees, and $10 for ages 10 and under.

Saturday, September 25 will serve as a benefit performance; contact Town Players or visit its website for additional information.

Tickets can be reserved by calling the box office, 203-270-9144, or sending an email to reservations@newtownplayers.org. They will be held at the door and can be paid for with cash, check or Visa, MasterCard or Discover.

Reservations can also be made and paid for online, by visiting newtownplayers.org.

Town Players of Newtown is a community theater, currently in its 80th anniversary season.

Performances (and auditions, see below) are held at The Little Theatre, at 18 Orchard Hill Road.

Auditions Announced

In addition, the company is already looking ahead to the production that will serve as the finalé for Town Players’s 80th anniversary season. Auditions for Design For Murder, George Batson’s classic murder mystery comedy, will take place Tuesday and Wednesday, September 8-9. Auditions will run from 7 to 9 pm each night.

All the ingredients are there for an intriguing thriller: murder, romance, comedy, a stormy night, and all the usual suspects in a stately mansion.

Gene Golaszewski of Brookfield will direct the production, which calls for four men and five women.

All roles are available. Character descriptions are available at newtownplayers.org.

Actors should read the play in advance and be ready to read sides from the script. No appointment is necessary.

Rehearsals begin the week of September 14, and the production runs Friday and Saturday evenings, October 30 through November 21, with two Sunday matinees.

All questions may be directed to info@newtownplayers.org.