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“Rumors” Will be Performed on the McPherson College Campus
What happens when a fancy anniversary party turns into a wild night complete with missing persons, attempted suicide, and impersonation? "Rumors"
McPherson College Performing Arts department presents Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Neil Simon’s farce, “Rumors,” on stage December 4th and 5th in Brown Auditorium. Showtime is at 7:30 p.m.
Simon’s seemingly normal setting spirals into a chaotic anecdote as the first guests to arrive at a soiree for the deputy of New York find nothing but madness. The hostess is missing, the servants are gone and only the host is there to greet them, grim faced, in light of his failed suicide attempt.
“Neil Simon is writing about upper class, spoiled rich kids trying to lie their way out of a bad situation…and it’s really funny to watch, but the characters we are portraying are certainly not ‘model’ citizens in any way, shape, or form,” explains assistant professor of theatre, Jd. Bowman.
Describing the mood and affect of the play, Neil Simon said, “At the final curtain, the audience must be as spent as the actors, who by now are on oxygen support. If the audience is only wheezing with laughter, you need rewrites or actors with stronger lungs."
“Rumors” has been insanely popular among high schools, colleges, and community theatres since its release in 1994. Because of the strong language, many productions edited their versions, which provoked Simon to press charges for illegal practice.
The 1994 cast of “Rumors” at McPherson College included former student and current professor, Bowman, in the role of Lenny, the tax collector. While the 1994 run was slightly edited for language, the 2009 production is under contract to perform from the original script, expletives and all.
This production is the senior project for Ashley Andrews, best known for her comedic roles as the ‘roller skating airhead’ in “Leading Ladies, “ or ‘scantily-clad airhead’ in “Noises Off.” Most recently, she was seen as the troubled youngest daughter in the dual-language production of “The House of Bernada Alba.”
The cast for “Rumors” is as follows: Ashley Andrews, Oklahoma City; Jordan Rothrock, McPherson; Isaac Levin, Dighton, Kan.; Jillian Overstake, Hillsboro, Kan.; Nathan Clary, McPherson; Emily Donell, Goddard, Kan.; Joey Staskowski, Oriskany Falls, N.Y.; Emma Bromme, San Antonio, Texas; Cody Taylor, Springville, Iowa; and Kelsie Patrick, Elizabeth, Colo. The crew for “Rumors” is as follows: stage manager-Mona Hale, McPherson; light designer-Esther Jacobitz, McPherson; set designer-Dr. Rick Tyler; costume designers-Ashley Andrews, Professor Bowman, and Dr. Tyler.
Tickets for the show are $5 for adults and $3.50 for students/senior citizens. For reservations, call the McPherson College Theatre Box Office at (620) 242-0444 or e-mail theatre@mcpherson.edu.
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