Newark’s Chapel Street Players brings a Neil Simon comedy to the stage next weekend.
Simon’s 1988 play, Rumors, is a fast-moving farce about status, secrets, and what happens when guests at a dinner party find their host seems to have accidentally shot himself.
“As in typical farce type comedies, there's a lot of misunderstandings and lots of movement," says Michelle Cullen, the play’s director. "Then in the end, there's a little mystery involved because it's really up to the audience to decide what really happened.”
One hallmark of Simon’s writing is his sense of comedy. Cullen says, even after months of studying the play and weeks of rehearsal, Simon’s dialogue still makes her laugh.
“There are so many of those that I'm still laughing in the audience, especially when your actors are really able to capture the essence of it," she says.
Cullen says that, while the play is a comedy, there’s also a message about whether people will choose to do the right thing or protect their position in society.
“Although there's a lot of comedy and people are laughing, what I hope you take away is the lengths that they are going to go to protect their reputation,” she says.
Rumors opens on Friday, November 7 and closes the following weekend. Tickets and showtimes are at chapelstreetplayers.org.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
