BWW: RUMORS spread and laughter follows when McLean Community Players presents Neil Simon Farce

The rehearsal room buzzes with the hustle of props being set and actors getting ready to work. Chairs and tables from the McLeanCommunity Center stand-in for the real furniture that will soon dress the Alden Theatre stage. With two weeks still before opening night, one actor is under the weather, so adjustments are made for the scenes that will be worked on during a Saturday rehearsal.

The sense of community and camaraderie is palpable as the ladies and gentlemen of McLean Community Players prepares a run-through for Neil Simon's Rumors, directed by Rosemary Hartman.

Broadway World-DC's Jeffrey Walker sat in on a recent rehearsal to get a preview of the production and talk with members of the production.

Rumors is Neil Simon's single foray into the complicated world of farce - a door-slamming, fast-paced world of mistaken assumptions, bad decisions, and cover-ups. Less sexy than many French or English farces, Rumors hits the ground running when a New York politician is discovered alone and bloody in his Manhattan apartment and his wife is missing. Couples start arriving for a dinner party and two-by-two, they become entangled in a series of misunderstandings that snowball until the police arrive.

By presenting Rumors, McLean Community Players hopes to offer audiences "an upbeat comedy after the very serious musical Next to Normal," explained Brent Stone, MCP board member. "It's a balancing act."

Directing Rumors was also part of a balancing act for Rosemary Hartman. She has directed extensively in Northern Virginia and she has other Neil Simon shows to her credit, including Plaza Suite, The Sunshine Boys and The Prisoner of Second Avenue.

"I had just done two heavy, back to back dramas, including Glengarry Glen Ross at Elden Street Players," said Hartman. "I wanted a different type of challenge. And this is so unusual for Neil Simon, being a farce."

Explaining her directing approach, Hartman said, "I tell them to keep it honest, even though
the characters are not too deep. The goal is to find that fine balance - not to be too broad so that the characters become caricatures."

"But with Rumors, the difference is in the physicality. This is more active than most of those plays."

Ruth Neaveill is no stranger to the energetic world of farce. She worked extensively in children's theatre in Chicago and has performed in such shows as Moon Over Buffalo many times.

Neaveill plays Chris Gorman, one of the country club crowd who comes to the surprising dinner party. "Chris and her husband Ken are the first to arrive. They find Charlie, the host, with a bleeding earlobe." Charlie is nearly incoherent and the rest of the play builds on the confusion.

Neaveill echoed the sentiments of several other cast members who gathered before rehearsal began. "I love it," speaking about the play.

The actor who plays Glenn, Michael Clendenin added, "This has been so much fun watching the show come together."

By day, Clendenin works in communications at Fannie Mae. Community theatre is a relief from the pressures of work, according to Clendenin. But he said he does appreciate the professional approach their director used during rehearsals.

"In rehearsal, Rosemary had us start from a serious point of view and then we built to the comedy so that we weren't just throwing out funny lines."

Hartman's vision of treating the high stakes found in the play with serious honest only goes to serve the true aim of Rumors: to make the audiences roll in the aisles.

"You have these people worried about a political scandal and all the subterfuge that is so often in farce. But they get embroiled in these terrific situations that turn very wacky."

Rumors contains adult language; MCP recommends the show for ages 15 and over.

The production runs Fridays-Sundays, April 19-May 4, 2013, at the Alden Theatre in the McLean Community Center.

Pictured: TOP: The Cast of RUMORS, McLean Community Players.

Show Art courtesy of McLean Community Players.

Photo Credit: TRACI J. BROOKS

McLean Community Players presents Neil Simon's Rumors - directed by Rosemary Hartman. Stage Manager: Terry Yates. Producer: Sydney-Chanele Dawkins.

CAST: Ruth Neaveill (Chris Gorman), Tom Flatt (Ken Gorman), Jina Leigh Ames (Claire Ganz), Chuck Dluhy (Lenny Ganz), Steven Rosenthal (Ernie Cusack), Joan Zeigler (Cookie Cusack), Michael Clendenin (Glenn Cooper), Shannon Benton (Cassie Cooper), Stephen F. Smith (Officer Welch), Erin Gallalee (Officer Pudney)

Alden Theatre: 1234 Ingleside Ave, McLean, VA 22101 (Click for map)

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 2 pm

April 19 - May 4, 2013

OvationTix online at 866-811-4111.

Box Office - 703.790.9223.

www.McLeanPlayers.org