"Rumors" - by Neil Simon - Georgetown Theatre Workshop (Byfield, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: The CAST of Neil Simon's "RUMORS" by the Georgetown Theatre Workshop in Byfield, MA. until May 18, 2025. Photo courtesy Georgetown Theatre Workshop, Kole Furlotte)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
“You are so naïve, it’s incredible. Get real, Lenny. Myra’s not having anything with anybody. Your friend, Charley, however, is running up a hell of a motel bill.”
- (“Claire”) – Neil Simon
Georgetown Theatre Workshop
Presents Neil Simon's
"RUMORS"
Written by Neil Simon
Directed by Angela Courtney Rossi
Cast Includes: Michael Cherone as “Ken,” Jaime Hennessy as “Chris,” Annie Hochheiser as “Claire,” Glenn Wakeley as “Lenny,” Leonard Chasse as “Ernie,” Becki Greene as “Cookie,” Philip Curcuru as “Glenn,” Lauren Casey as “Cassie,” John Leonard as “Officer Welch,” Christine Cloonan as “Officer Pudney.”
Additional Creative Team:
Producer – Matthew Lundergan; Stage Manager – Mary-Liz Murray; House Manager – Michel Furlotte; Lighting Design – Matthew Garlin; Sound Design – Chris Rose; Board Operator – Ken Tucci; Props Design – Kara Schmitt; Master Electrician – Benjamin Brotman; Costume Design – Kris Reynolds; Hair and Makeup – Jennifer Hurley; Set Design – Matthew Lundergan; Set Dressing – Angela Courtney Rossi; Program Manager – Scott Gorman.
Performances:
May 9, 2025 through May 18, 2025
(Contact Venue for Exact Dates and Times)
Byfield Community Arts Center, 7 Central Street, Byfield, MA.
TICKETS:
For tickets and more information, visit www.gtowntheatre.org
BUY TICKETS
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
Closing out its 50th season, Georgetown Theatre Workshop (GTW) has staged the hysterical comedy "RUMORS," yielding non-stop laughter from start to finish.
Under the proficient guidance of director Angela Courtney Rossi, the cast faithfully performs the Neil Simon masterpiece of farce.
The ten-member GTW cast has a bond for the Simon material that becomes obvious and more apparent as the play progresses.
"RUMORS" opened on Broadway in 1988 and ran for 535 performances and eight previews.
The original production was directed by Gene Saks, the original cast included icons such as Christine Baranski, Ken Howard, Joyce Van Patten, Ron Leibman and his wife, the remarkable Jessica Walter.
Baranski would go on to win the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play while Joseph G. Aulisi was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design.
The show is a masterclass in intelligent comedic play construction and the cast successfully maintains the rapid but rhythmic pacing required to "bring the funny."
The humor is smart and instantly fires off like a rocket (or a bullet) with witty retorts to fervent one-liners to hysterical responses executed (okay, that last one might be a poor choice of wording) lightning fast.
When it gets to that point, as you find yourself laughing at one joke, you will probably miss the next joke because you will still be laughing once it strikes.
The GTW "RUMORS" ensemble has a good grasp of the above and does well presenting the irrationality and ridiculousness of the entire situation in which their characters find themselves.
(Photo: Michael Cherone as “Ken” with Jaime Hennessy as “Chris” in the opening scene of Neil Simon's "RUMORS" by the Georgetown Theatre Workshop in Byfield, MA. until May 18, 2025. Photo courtesy Georgetown Theatre Workshop, Kole Furlotte)
What starts off as a celebratory event quickly turns into an evening of mass recrimination and self-preservation for four couples.
As the story unfolds…or unravels…it is May (not exactly sure what year it is but let’s go with 1988) and we are inside a posh Victorian mansion located outside of New York City, specifically in Sneden’s Landing, New York.
The (unseen) Deputy Mayor of New York, “Charlie Brock,” and his (equally unseen) wife, “Myra,” are celebrating their 10th Wedding Anniversary and are holding a swank gathering of close friends.
Ken Gorman (Michael Cherone) and his wife, Chris (Jaime Hennessy), are the first of several couples due to arrive at the house and, when they do, they find the house practically deserted.
Cherone is quite adept at showcasing Ken's anxiety over his inability to try and control the immediate situation…which soon devolves into chaos.
As recently reformed smoker, Chris, Hennessy is quite funny as Chris exacerbates Ken’s anxiety, along with her own.
Upon a closer check, they quickly discover that Charlie appears to have been mortally wounded.
As Chris begins to call for help, specifically to a “Dr. Dudley” (and remember that name as it will come up again) Ken stops her as it seems Charlie is still alive.
Enter Lenny (Glenn Wakeley) and Claire Ganz (Annie Hochheiser), also friends of the Brocks.
Lenny and Claire have just been in a car accident and, worried he might have injured his neck, Lenny also calls the aforementioned “Dr. Dudley.”
The above actually all serves more as “prologue” for the show because this is when the "RUMORS" really begin to spark.
(Photo: Annie Hochheiser as “Claire,” Becki Greene as “Cookie,” Leonard Chasse as “Ernie,” Glenn Wakeley as “Lenny” and Jaime Hennessy as “Chris” in a scene from Neil Simon's "RUMORS" by the Georgetown Theatre Workshop in Byfield, MA. until May 18, 2025. Photo courtesy Georgetown Theatre Workshop, Kole Furlotte)
It isn’t long after the initial discovery of Charlie that people begin to try and cover up for both Charlie and Myra, which leads to a blossoming effect where they begin to invent lies to help conceal the truth of other lies.
Confused? Good.
It gets worse…or better…or at least funnier, depending on your point of view and ability to accept the preposterous nature of farce.
At the heart of the matter is the suspicion that Charlie and Myra were each engaged in some extramarital hanky-panky.
As Claire, Hochheiser does a fine job with much of the comedy, incorporating some exceptionally funny facial expressions.
Wakefield as Lenny has a firm grasp of the character which, as written, feeds off the energy coming from other characters.
The "Lenny" character comes with a high degree of difficulty as it is one that hits the stage from the outset like a freight train and rarely has a subdued moment.
Not only has Lenny been assigned some of Simon's funniest lines, but he also executes much of the more arduous physical comedy and has a ten-minute monologue at the end of the play.
Next couple to arrive is Ernie Cusack (Leonard Chasse), a psychologist, and his eccentric wife Cookie (Becki Greene).
Although "eccentric" well describes Cookie, it might just as easily apply to everyone currently under this Mayor's roof.
At first, Ernie and Cookie are kept in the dark on what has transpired before their arrival.
Similar to Lenny, Chasse as Ernie contends with a lot of the physical comedy as Ernie tries to maintain some semblance of composure once he and Cookie are advised of the situation.
Chasse also shows however that, as a psychologist, Ernie will probably require receiving more therapy than he gives before this night is over.
As Cookie, Greene seems to fully embrace her character's eccentricities, which also comes part and parcel with some demanding physical comedy.
More mayhem ensues just before the arrival of the final couple invited to the party.
(Photo: Leonard Chasse as "Ernie Cusack" helping to lift Becki Greene as his eccentric wife "Cookie" in a scene from Neil Simon's "RUMORS" by the Georgetown Theatre Workshop in Byfield, MA. until May 18, 2025. Photo courtesy Georgetown Theatre Workshop, Kole Furlotte)
Glenn Cooper (Philip Curcuru) is a politician running for State Senate who enters this odd “house of pain” with his argumentative wife, Cassie (Lauren Casey).
Casey and Curcuru are quite effective as a couple most definitely in trouble even before arriving at this fateful gathering.
For whatever reasons - most of them self-serving - an effort is made to conceal and protect Charlie and Myra’s personal dilemma(s) from everybody else in the house.
This leads to a gamesmanship of recriminations and, once the "blame game" begins, everybody suddenly pretends as if they only just arrived and know nothing while blaming everybody else for what transpired just before they arrived this evening.
Then, after a mysterious caller makes matters worse, the police subsequently show up at the party.
As Officers Welch (John Leonard) and Pudney (Christine Cloonan) begin to question everyone, the amassing of lie upon lie begins to get the officers suspicious of what is going on at the party.
Cloonan is fine in the role but is not given much to work with by way of the Pudney character (a character one can almost sense that, when writing, Simon would either have loved to develop or remove entirely).
Leonard does quite nicely with some of the quips and monologues of Welch who comes across as a stereotypical Neil Simon "veteran cop” character (Think of “Murray” from Simon’s “Odd Couple”…only not as civil).
The build-up of intensity, as lies are elicited to help cover up previous lies, is a true farcical delight.
The turmoil leads to one of the most brilliantly constructed comedic monologues ever written for the finale of a play.
At the production level:
The single set design for Charlie and Myra’s lavish mansion in "RUMORS" was kept simple for the Georgetown stage (at Byfield Community Arts Center) with a reduced upper level and staircase but still featuring a wide array of doors.
Lighting and sound cues were all well executed.
Costumes for the show were effective overall but vacillated in how well between the men’s standard semi-formal attire and the women’s more diverse outfits.
Chris and Cassie gowns appeared as if they were attending a 1980s’ prom, while Claire's dress seemed more in keeping with that 80s' semi-formal no student wanted to attend, and Cookie’s eccentric ensemble was perfectly in keeping with the nature of her character.
(Photo: The CAST of Neil Simon's "RUMORS" by the Georgetown Theatre Workshop in Byfield, MA. until May 18, 2025. Photo courtesy Georgetown Theatre Workshop, Kole Furlotte)
As for the four "RUMORS" couples:
For those seeking it, don’t bother looking for any “woke representation” here…there isn't any.
The married couples in this show (including the unseen “Charlie” and “Myra”) all showcase well their upper-middle-class Caucasian privilege.
As written by the legendary Simon, it is hard to feel empathy for this pompous, self-serving, self-preserving, selfish bunch of wealthy miscreants...and yet, because they make us laugh so incredibly hard for two and a half hours, we do.
This all culminates in havoc that comes with mistaken identities, spectacular kitchen catastrophes, the plummeting of a "valuable" quartz crystal into a toilet, assorted stumbles, falls, door slams, gunshots, burns, rashes, sudden hearing loss...and, of course, bandages.
The GTW ensemble substantiates the rumor that "RUMORS" remains one of Simon’s most hilarious of comedies.
The GTW staging of "RUMORS" continues at the Byfield Community Arts Center in Byfield, MA. until May 18th, 2025 and, for Neil Simon fans or just fans of great comedy, is a pure delight.
For tickets and more information, visit www.gtowntheatre.org
BUY TICKETS
Approximately two hours with one intermission
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
In Neil Simon’s "RUMORS" - Chris and Ken Gorman arrive at a fancy dinner party for their friend, Charley Brock.
They discover that all is not well, and that Charley has had an accident involving a shotgun and his earlobe.
This could be damaging to Charley’s reputation, as he is deputy mayor of New York City.
Chris and Ken’s friends begin to arrive.
As they attempt to cover up the facts, hilarity ensues. Neil Simon’s "RUMORS" is a charming farce with lots of gags, twists, zingers, and zanies, but it also borrows from Simon’s life experience to depict the challenges, as well as the comforts, of married life. (STAGEAGENT)
ABOUT GEORGETOWN THEATRE WORKSHOP
The mission of the GEORGETOWN THEATRE WORKSHOP is to introduce people to live stage performance. Current and past programming includes presenting plays, and holding seminars and educational programs for the public. The public is always welcome to attend. GEORGETOWN THEATRE WORKSHOP is dedicated to bringing engaging, thought-provoking productions to the community. With a focus on artistic excellence and community enrichment, GEORGETOWN THEATRE WORKSHOP strives to create memorable experiences for audiences of all ages. Proudly supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Georgetown Cultural Council, Newbury Cultural Council and other local sponsors.
