...but what a tangled web of loving it does weave...

The gossip flies fast and furious in Rumors, a Neil Simon play that is at once a comic farce and a satire of high-society life. Superficiality, social pretense, miscommunication, and fabrication propel the plot along its winding, hilarious, and careening course, driven by ingenious caricatures of a group of successful socialites. The play derives its humor from its circuitous dialogue, but its comic effect would fall flat without the nuances of expression that accompany excellent acting. Simon's play is in essence a study in comedic mayhem, peopled by characters wealthy enough to create their own realities, who, in the end, imagine even the most implausible events into being.

KATHERINE ALDRICH/YH Cattiness takes the cake at Neil Simon's exaggerated high-society dinner discussion.

The plot of Rumors is often reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest in its unlikely twists and preponderance of coincidences. The drama begins in Washington, D.C., in the house of Charlie and Myra Brock, a wealthy couple celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary. To the dismay of the first guests to arrive, Chris Gorman (Rachel Grand, BR '02) and her husband Ken (Josh Kriegman, CC '02), the party is somewhat less festive than expected. We quickly learn that Myra is missing and that Charlie, while attempting to commit suicide, mistakenly shot himself through the earlobe. The action that ensues as more guests arrive follows a circular path to an eventual if convoluted explanation of Charlie's actions and Myra's whereabouts. Along the way, we encounter a missing cook, a damaged BMW, recurring back spasms, a penchant for alternative medicine, a philandering politician, and the general cattiness of the characters that inhabit Simon's exaggerated world.

A cast of talented actors brings the caricatures in Rumors into vivid existence. Brooke Lyons, MC '03, who plays the role of party guest Claire Ganz, embodies the consummate socialite. She delivers her lines marvelously, but it is her gestures and expressions that best convey her character's vanity and supercilious disdain. Lyons' pursed lips, haughty stare, poised cigarette smoking, and society woman strut make her the very picture of a superficial snob. Jessica Block, TC '03, inhabits the person of Cassie Cooper, the jilted, frivolous wife of aspiring politician Glen (Chris Rovzar, ES '03) with polish and charisma. She has perfected the art of flouncing around the stage in orchestrated melodrama, and delivers a comic portrayal of the revenge-hungry wife turned sexy seductress. Kriegman, as Ken Gorman, delivers some of the play's dialogue gems during a bout of temporary deafness. In one instance involving a fabricated feline, Glen exclaims, "It's the phone, Ken," to which Ken ingenuously replies, "Why would he want a bone? It's a cat, not a dog!" The rest of the actors also turn in adept performances in their respective roles.

Theater

Rumors Directed by Steven Townley Fri., Mar. 31, 9 p.m., Sat., Apr. 1, 9 p.m., and Sun., Apr. 2, 9 p.m. Ezra Stiles Little Theater $2

Although the primary intent of Simon's Rumors is simply to make his audience laugh, in doing so, he satirizes the world of privilege that he creates. This world is perhaps best represented by the women's recurring identification of their gowns with the charity events to which they wore them. In one instance, Chris inquires of Claire, "Isn't that the dress you bought for cerebral palsy?" "No, sickle cell," the perfectly out-of-touch Claire returns. In Simon's sphere of oblivious and self-absorbed high society, words hold tantamount power, as the play's comic proliferation of gossip demonstrates. In a production in which lies and rumors have the power of truth, the key statement in the play holds true: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we plan to deceive!" Rumors proves this theme self-mockingly and hilariously.

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