COD College Theater to Stage RUMORS at the MAC, 4/21-5/1

College of DuPage (COD) College Theater presents one of Neil Simon's most celebrated comedies, "Rumors," directed by COD Director of Theater, Connie Canaday Howard at the McAninch Arts Center's Playhouse Theatre, April 21-May 1. The New York Post calls "Rumors," "Light, frothy and fun;" and NBC-TV calls it, "Not only side splitting, but front and back splitting."

"Rumors" is set at the large, tastefully decorated house/home of Charley and Myra Brock who have invited all their good friends to an elegant dinner party to celebrate the Brock's 10th anniversary. Attorney Ken Gorman and his wife Chris are the first ones to arrive and find Myra missing and an unconscious Charley who seems to have "accidentally" shot himself in the ear. As the rest of the guests arrive, the story of the Brock's anniversary evening spins wildly out of control with all the guests pulled into the farcical hilarity.

"At the heart of 'Rumors' is how rumors, assumptions, lies, misunderstandings, can wreak havoc in our lives," says Canaday Howard. "Most of us know we should avoid rumors; however, as the characters in the play find, rumors can be salacious, tempting, and sometimes a convenient solution when stuck in a confusing situation. I think we've seen the dark side of rumors recently in the ill-natured discourse playing out on this year's Presidential political campaign trail; this script, by contrast, is very funny, though I'm hoping our play will cause our audience to consider the role rumors play in current society, and perhaps consider how they can affect the circulation of rumors."

Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winner Neil Simon is an American playwright, screenwriter and author with more than 30 plays and screenplays to his credit. By his own admission, in 1988, he was going through a challenging time in his life and needed to cheer himself up. His solution was to write "Rumors," a farce in two acts. "Rumors" premiered at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre in September, 1988 and opened on Broadway that November. From there it transferred to the Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theatre where it closed after more than 500 performances. The original cast included Christine Baranski, Ken Howard, Ron Leibman, Joyce Van Patten, and Jessica Walter. Baranski won a 1989 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play.

The cast for "Rumors" hails from seven Chicago suburbs including Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Hanover Park, Maywood, Naperville, Roselle, Villa Park and Winfield. It features Caroline Broderick as Claire Ganz, Cassie Collins as Cookie Cusack, Clare Collins as Cassie Cooper, Ryan Gentile as Glenn Cooper, Max Kennedy as Ken Gorman, Michelle Krueger as Officer Pudney, Julian Coronado as Ernie Cusack, Kyle Opalk as Lenny Ganz, Rebekah Szilagyi as Chris Gorman and Caleb Wimbush as Officer Welch.

The design team includes Downers Grove's Connie Canaday Howard (director), Aurora's Michael Moon (scenic/properties/sound design), Chicago's Kimberly Morris (costume/ makeup/hair design), Glen Ellyn's Jon Gantt (lighting design) and John Tovar (fight and movement choreography). Hanover Park's Ed Garzaro is stage manager. Assistant stage manager is Naperville's Alexa Hansen.

Connie Canaday Howard (director) is COD Director of Theater where she has directed countless productions, including "Taming of the Shrew" and "The Heidi Chronicles," which received the award for best non-professional production in Chicagoland. Other local theater credits include Buffalo Theatre Ensemble and regionally with Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival, City Theatre Company, Belvoir Terrace, Drama Workshop, Down River Dinner Theatre, Ingersoll Theatre, Charlie's Showplace. She serves on the Artistic Team of the Joseph Jefferson committee, and adjudicates for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Canaday Howard was C.O.D.'s Outstanding Faculty for 2003-2004.

Offering an Associate in Arts degree, the COD College Theater Department offers a variety of courses including Acting I and II, Acting for the Camera, Audition, Dance Theatre I and II, Directing, Improvisation, Stage Combat - Armed and Unarmed, Stagecraft, Stage Management, Stage Movement, Stage Make-up, Technical Production, Theater Appreciation and Voice Over Acting. Support is made possible by a generous gift from the College of DuPage Foundation's Dr. Donald and Helen (Gum) Westlake Fund for Student Productions.

College of DuPage College Theater presents Neil Simon's "Rumors," in the Playhouse Theatre of Glen Ellyn's McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd. April 21-May 1. Running time is approximately two hours with one intermission. A preview will be held Thursday, April 21 at 8 p.m.; opening is Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. Performances are Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Pre-show discussion with designers and director: Thursday, April 21 at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are $14 for adults and $12 for seniors and students. For tickets or more information call 630.942.4000 or visit AtTheMAC.org. Please note: This play uses adult language and themes.

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