BWW Reviews: RUMORS Has It!

A bullet train of laughs is reverberating across the Opening Night walls of Desert Stages Theatre, thanks to the deft direction of Virginia Olivieri and Gary Zaro and the quirky comic thespians who breathe fire into the script of Neil Simon's elegant farce, RUMORS.

It's a manic non-stop Niagara Falls of laughs, one-liners, wordplays, allusions, deceptions and all-around cavorting, all in the name of CYA.

It is 8:30 p.m. on a May evening in a Victorian mansion in upper crust Sneden's Landing (now Palisades), New York ~ the home of Charley Brock, the Big Apple's Deputy Mayor. The Gorman's, Ken (Wade Moran), CB's attorney, and Chris (Heidi Carpenter), are frantic over the discovery of their host's blood-drenched body. Ken laments, "I don't know why people decorate in white?" and from there the cascade of zaniness flows as one couple after another arrive to celebrate the Brock's tenth anniversary, only to learn that Charley's been shot through his earlobe! Except that Charley's upstairs and out of sight, his wife Myra is awol, and the maid is off! All of which leaves the eccentric and self-possessed guests up in arms and what to do without incriminating themselves in a situation about which they lack clarity.

Adding to the chaos are the Ganz's, CB's accountant Lenny (Tim Fiscus) and Claire (Amy Garland); the Cooper's, CB's shrink Ernie (Dan Ashlock) and the literally ditzy spasm inflicted Cookie (Donna Kaufman); and the conflicted Cooper's, Glenn (Randy Rice), a candidate for the state senate, and Cassie (Aubrie Artiano), perpetually snarky and irritable.

The Fifth Amendment is at risk when Officers Welsh (Kelly Fulcher) and Pudney (Keaton Honaker) arrive to investigate neighbors' complaints about gunshots. What they learn and what the real story is cannot be revealed here. No spoiler alerts in this review!

The bottom line is that this production is well-crafted and well-played. The chemistry among the characters is finely tuned, most especially between Ms. Carpenter and Ms. Garland whose timing and gestures are priceless. Mr. Fiscus is an explosive force on stage, barrel-assing over divan and staircase from one recrimination to another. After a couple of hours of madcap mayhem, each member of the ensemble has etched a memorable portrait of the rich and famous poseurs.

Are there moments when Mr. Simon's script gets a bit cartoonish, tedious and strained? Surely. But it is a testament to the cast that they maintain an electric pace and keep the comedy surging ahead. Do the set pieces bespeak the lavish décor of a mansion? No. But, who cares? The set by Ms. Olivieri and Matt Stetler is impressive, and Tamara Treat's costumes are smartly tailored. It is a testament to co-directors Olivieri and Zaro that they more than make do with the resources that they have and creatively engineer a production and guide a cast that proves ultimately that the play's the thing!

Rumors runs roaringly rampant and needs to be seen to be believed!

Rumors continues its run in the Actor's Café at Desert Stages Theatre through July 26th.

Photo credit to Desert Stages Theatre

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