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Furman Theatre to stage Simon’s “Rumors”


Last updated January 25, 2016

By Tina Underwood

Neil Simon. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

Neil Simon. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

Furman University Theatre will present Rumors by Neil Simon Feb. 17-20 and 25-27 at 8 p.m., with matinee showings Feb. 21 and 28 at 3 p.m. All performances take place in The Playhouse on campus.

Directed by guest artist and Furman alumna Carol Sutton, the production is open to the public. Tickets are $16 for adults, $13 for seniors, and $8 for students.

America’s premier comic playwright, Simon delighted audiences with this out-and-out funny offering. Four couples find themselves at the townhouse of a deputy New York City mayor and his wife to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. The party never begins because the host has shot himself in the head (it’s only a flesh wound) and his wife is missing. His lawyer’s cover up gets progressively more difficult to sustain as the other guests arrive and nobody can remember who has been told what about whom.

NBC TV has dubbed the play, “Not only side splitting, but front and back splitting.”

Joanna Jacobs of The Tuscaloosa News reports, “RUMORS is something of a throwback for Simon to the screwball drawing room comedies of the 1930s… [it] also bears some similarities to another “drawing room” genre, the whodunit—although any mystery element in it is used purely for comic effect.”

Scenic and lighting designer is alan bryson. Will Lowry designs costumes, and Haley Brown is sound designer.

Cast members are:

Chris Gorman……………………………….. Kenzie Wynne, Simpsonville
Ken Gorman…………………………………….. Dakota Adams, Wellford
Claire Ganz……………………………………… Clare Ruble, Simpsonville
Lenny Ganz…………………………………….. Sam Nelson, Boise, Idaho
Ernie Cusack……………………………………… Sal Donzella, Greenville
Cookie Cusack…………………………….. Rachel Gifford, Travelers Rest
Glenn Cooper…………………………………. Cody Evins, Franklin, Tenn.
Cassie Cooper……………………………… Dayanari Umana, Spartanburg
Officer Welch……………………………………… Regina Wells, Wellford
Officer Pudney…………………………………. Anne Morgan, Evans, Ga.

For ticket information and reservations, call the Theatre Box Office at (864) 294-2125. Box Office opens Monday, Feb. 15 at 9 a.m. Tickets may be ordered online.

 

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