A total must-see: Spreading ‘Rumors’ from Neil Simon on Hilton Head Island
“Unfortunately, an unfounded rumor isn’t one that is lost.”
Neil Simon’s “Rumors,” an award-winning comedy, a farce, really, with all of the attendant and ridiculously appealing bells and whistles — mistaken identities, the fog of alternative truths, and further, the telltale outward and visible signs — all combine to keep you laughing nonstop through both acts, and on into your drive home from the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina.
The crazy antics, the often hysterically funny, ridiculous even, elements of a situation comedy, loaded with brisk dialogue deftly directed by Brad DePlanche, and featuring a superlative cast, is a total “must-see” for all of those obvious reasons, and more.
Neil Simon, well known for his career as an award-winning playwright, felt he needed to write something to cheer himself. The outcome was this fantastic farce, this outrageously complicated situation comedy. What propels “Rumors” and takes it to farce level is that it moves straight comedy over the top and further adds elements of comic dramatic work, using “wag and wit” typically offering detailed characterizations and ludicrously improbable situations.
Flow of the show
Rumors is set in the lovely home of Charlie and Myra, whom, by the way, you’ll never meet!
Their upscale home is nestled in Sneden’s Landing, New York, a kind of desirable upper-class neighborhood. The time is an evening in 1988. We, in the audience, are invited to enjoy the comings and goings that will follow during the planned celebration of their 10th wedding anniversary. Four couples, close friends, were invited to join them for cocktails and an elegant dinner filled with bright conversation and plenty of champagne toasts.
When Chris and Ken Gorman arrive, dressed to the nines, just trust me when I tell you that in a very short time, it becomes apparent that things at Charlie’s and Myra’s are definitely amiss ... more than amiss!
Here would be the perfect time to share with you that there are really two themes that surface in the course of our production: friendship and cover-up.
All future plot line activity is focused on covering up a series of traumatic crises that have occurred over time and on that special evening. The friends feel that if the truth/rumor were known about those events and any accompanying backstory, their families, their careers, their positions in the community, would surely suffer an enormous setback.
They all agreed that that is the way rumors are started, and because of the longstanding friendships, they would take all necessary steps to cover up the unusual events of that night.
The complex, hilarious and engaging storyline is more obvious in the viewing than in my telling. But I do want you to know a couple of the show-stopping events our disordered group handles in the course of the celebratory gathering that are mildly to extremely neurotic, obsessive, and hysterical at the least.
Very early on, couple number one, the Gormans, begin to realize that not only are things amiss, there is no sign, nor has there been, of Charlie or Myra, nor the servants who would be in place to handle the preparation and serving of cocktails and dinner, and to generally see to the smooth running of the party.
So here are the earliest beginnings of the cover-up. Ken ultimately finds Charlie upstairs on his bed with a bullet hole in his left earlobe, lots of blood, a bottle of Valium, and a suicide note nearby ... and without conscious volition. No sign of Myra, by the way. It becomes clear in moments that Ken wants to protect his friend Charlie from the scandal that would surely result.
While Ken is upstairs dealing with his dear friend and the disarray, the other couples arrive, and having updated his wife Chris, the cover-up remains in place ... until it doesn’t ... and it is then that the cover-ups become transactional and transitional ... depending on the who, what, when and where.
You won’t be surprised when I tell you that each version is more far-fetched and delightfully outrageous.
The cast
Filled to the brim with issues of mistaken identity and the associated comings and goings, you’ll find yourself involved and amused on many levels. The totally superb cast offers the most astonishing performances imaginable. Energetic to the 100th power, they run and they walk, they dance and they talk, and so much more.
And through it all, they provide us a closeup look at the kind of characters they turn out to be. They are all funny as they, by turns, bring their unique characters to the forefront.
The story is propelled, magically, as the cast continues to keep the amazing dialogue flow ... filled with double entendre, one-liners, wonderfully sarcastic and sardonic. It is brisk, their timing is spot on and their delivery completely on the mark. Through it all, remember to be on the lookout for the incredibly physical performance the entire cast offers.
There is a surprise ending to go with this amazing story ... which I’ll not reveal, but which you will enjoy to the fullest.
The show is a winner and you will enjoy it from every angle ... as did everyone at the opening night performance.
If you go
What: Neil Simon’s “Rumors.”
Where: Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, 14 Shelter Cove Lane, Hilton Head Island
When: February 7–23.
Information: Artshhi.com or 843 842 2787.