Rumors
By Neil Simon
Directed by George Robert Bailey
Reviewed by Keith Waits.
Entire contents are copyright ©
2013 Keith Waits. All rights reserved.
Rumors is a Neil Simon farce that follows a classic model: misunderstandings
and subterfuge and frenetic activity abound, and as a schematic exercise the
esteemed writer follows the blueprints pretty closely. By his own account, the
writing was something of an academic exercise, setting himself the task of creating
a farce so as to kick-start his creativity during a slump.
Perhaps this is why the story
never attempts to engage us emotionally. The characters are limited in their
scope and designed to serve the task at hand, which is a light satire of how
well-to-do, socially conscious people handle a crisis that risks embarrassing
them all. There is little depth here, just choices designed to set-up the next
punch-line or bit of business. No romance or male-bonding such as we would find
in Barefoot in the Park or The Odd Couple; no coming-of-age such as
in Brighton Beach Memoirs; just
laughs with no feeling. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that,
but it does place a huge emphasis on the mechanics of timing and delivery.
The situation in this comedy is a
10th anniversary dinner party at which one of the hosts and all of
house staff have mysteriously disappeared and the remaining host, the husband,
has been superficially wounded by a gunshot. As the guests arrive, they
conspire to hide the circumstance, first from each other and, eventually, from the
police. Various calamities result, many of which are hard on the guests: back
spasms, burned fingers and temporary deafness are all employed as comic
devices to somewhat obvious effect. And there are several instances in which
highly implausible explanations are proffered, climaxed by a lengthy, tour de
force monologue in which one characters attempts to cover all the absurd ground
that has been covered in its entirety.
Rumors is a popular choice for community and high school productions, and
while the script is better than many other such staples, it strikes me as minor
Neil Simon, closer to one of his screenplays from the 1980s than his seminal
work from the 1960s. Haywood had great success last season with a good
production of Barefoot in the Park,
so it comes as no surprise that they would revisit the venerable playwright,
whose prolific body of work is filled with chestnuts worth reviving. I wish I
felt more love for this limited comedy, but it too often shows the strain of
forced hilarity and may require expert comic actors to make the clockwork
mechanics of the piece hum along smoothly enough to hide the fact that the
whole thing is a bit rusty and dated.
The cast at Haywood may not be
quite that caliber, but they give a good effort. Director George Robert Bailey
understands the nuts and bolts required for material like this, and he leads
the ten actors through the paces with skill and confidence. Together they
make for a tidy and effective ensemble. There is some over-playing here and
there, an easy pitfall in farce, where too often screaming is thought to be
inherently funny. But, for the most part, there is restraint enough in the
playing and a few moments that rise above. It falls to Ric Vaughan to tackle
the “Big Lie” monologue, and he handles it with aplomb; while Rick Pauley and
Debbie Smith give nice attention to detail in portraying a marriage on the
skids.
Farce like this usually requires
rapid entrances and exits through multiple doors, which can prove a challenge
on a small stage. But the set design – by Karen Cable, Larry Morgan and Linda
Ray – is marvelously plotted to accommodate the traffic while allowing room for
ten actors onstage together in the final scenes. There is no costume credit,
but if the cast handled this chore themselves, they made smart and appropriate
choices.
Yet, ultimately, what we are left
with in Rumors is a group of well-educated, accomplished professionals resorting to actions that border on idiocy. It may fit the satirical
intentions, but Simon is never pointed enough to invite our delight in watching
such characters make a series of inane choices. We don’t expect doctors and
lawyers and politicians to behave so stupidly (well, politicians maybe), and the
specter of social stigmatization is never given enough weight to back up the
premise. Still, this production delivers an agreeable reading of the play, with
good energy and commitment enough to recommend.
Rumors
May 10, 11, 17, 18, 24 & 25 @
8 p.m.
May 12, 19 & 26 @ 2 p.m.
Haywood Theater
115 S. Capitol Ave
Corydon, IN 47112
812-738-2138
No comments:
Post a Comment