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REVIEWS
Rumors delights, despite number of low spots
By Ruby Nancy, "The Quad City Times"
Neil Simon's
Rumors
is one of the prolific playwright's more clever scripts--one of those
"shows about nothing" that some think Jerry Seinfeld invented--and it
has about as much depth as your typical "Seinfeld" episode, too.
This setup is
pretty basic. A group of friends gather for a dinner party, and
everything that can go wrong in an hour pretty much does just that. The
couple officially hosting the party had planned to celebrate their
anniversary, but one, a city politician, is bleeding and the other one
is missing. As friends arrive, they try to cover up what they think
might be a scandal, and the coverups slip and slide every time a new
guest arrives.
The production of
this cute comedy that plays this weekend at St. Ambrose doesn't always
live up to its potential, however, since some of the performances in it
aren't quite what they could be--at least at the rehearsal I saw earlier
in the week. The show is still funny, mind you, but not as
laugh-out-loud hilarious as the writing is. (Distractions are easy to
find. For instance, how a third-generation Russian American woman in New
York City ends up with an overdone Alabama accent I will never know.)
The actors--at all
levels of their game--are back by some great tech, as is usual for St.
Ambrose Theatre, and a large, nicely-laid-out set provides the perfect
setting for the scenes in Rumors. Costumes are nice and glitzy, for
the most part, and the decision to subtly color-match the clothing of
the couples in the show is a cute touch that clothes fanatics will
appreciate.
The pacing and
delivery really pick up as the show moves along, particularly when
Cassie (Claire Richards) and Glenn (Ted Stephens III) arrive. These two
performers play characters who snipe at each other with real
vengeance--an aspiring "senator" and his wife; the most realistic of all
the pairs you see here--and Richards and Stephens turn in first-class
work laced with acerbic, bitter undertones that are too distinct to
miss.
Rusty Koll is also
excellent as a Lenny, a poor, put-upon guy who has had a really bad
evening--before he even arrives at the dinner party, and his big
storytelling scene in the second act is the comic highlight of the
show--as it should be. Koll's performance in this role is comedy as it
was meant to be done, and makes the whole enterprise worth seeing just
so you don't miss his work.
An uneven
production overall, Rumors still has its bright spots and funny
moments that Simon fans and anyone looking for light entertainment
should enjoy.
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