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Grace's Diner finally is open for business.
The diner is the setting for William Inge's play "Bus Stop," which ACTS originally planned to stage in Sharpsville, Pa., back in 2020.
"We held auditions, then COVID struck," director Maria Petrella-Ackley said. "It's been on ice since then. ACTS Sharpville moved to Sharon to a renovated church and got it up and running, and they called me and asked if I'd like to reprise 'Bus Stop' at the new facility."
Petrella-Ackley didn't hesitate to say yes, and the play opens Friday for a two-weekend run.
Inge, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his play "Picnic," wrote "Bus Stop" in the mid 1950s. It's the story of a group of locals and travelers stranded in a diner outside of Kansas City, Mo., during a snowstorm. It ran for a year on Broadway with a film adaptation premiering the following year.
"I love that era of playwrights," the director said. "Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, William Inge -- I can't put it into words. I just love these plays. I saw 'Bus Stop' when I was a junior in high school, and it spoke to me then. Maybe that's why."
The cast features Emily Royer, Wendy Wygant, Brandon Donaldson, Andy Pivarnik, Cat Smith, Jason Robert Miller, Mark Nelson and Mike Allenbaugh. Only two of them were a part of the original 2020 cast.
Petrella-Ackley said she wants the production to remain true to its 1950s setting, even if some of the circumstances may seem archaic to contemporary audiences and some of the dialogue reflects the sexist mindset of the times.
"It's very much of the time period," she said. "It's kind of a comedy / drama. I like that combination. It lets the actors use their comedy chops, but there's an underlying drama to what's happening.
"It takes place in a small town, and he (Inge) know this subject matter inside and out. Some of the characters are based on people that he knew, and he writes exactly the way Midwestern people spoke. It's also an ensemble piece. Everybody has their moment, and no one role is more important than any other in the show."
If you go …
WHAT: "Bus Stop"
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday through May 28
WHERE: ACTS Center for the Performing Arts, 40 S. Irvine Ave., Sharon, Pa.
HOW MUCH: Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and are available online at www.actsharpsville.org and by calling 724-815-4388.