Rumors is a
farcicalA farce is a comedy written for the stage or film which aims to entertain the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include sexual innuendo and word play, and a fast-paced...
play by
Neil SimonMarvin Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. His numerous Broadway succcesses have led to his work being among the most regularly performed in the world...
.
At its start, several affluent couples gather in the posh suburban residence of a couple for a dinner party celebrating their host's tenth anniversary. When they arrive, they discover there are no servants, the hostess is missing, and the host - the deputy mayor of
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
- has shot himself through the earlobe. Comic complications arise when, given everyone's
upper classIn sociology an upper class is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area, but only to the extent that the power of the state can intervene in free exchange or distort...
status, they decide they need to do everything possible to conceal the evening's events from the local police and the media.
After eight previews, the
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
production, directed by
Gene SaksGene Saks is an American Tony Award-winning stage and film director.-Life and career:Saks was born in New York City, the son of Beatrix and Morris J. Saks...
, opened on November 17, 1988 at the
Broadhurst TheatreThe Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.It was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known theatre designer who had been working directly with the Shubert brothers; the Broadhurst opened 27 September 1917...
, where it ran for slightly more than a year before transferring to the
Ethel BarrymoreThe Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 243 West 47th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp and constructed by the Shuberts, it opened on December 20 1928 with The Kingdom of God, a play selected by leading lady Ethel Barrymore...
, for a total run of 535 performances.
Rumors is a
farcicalA farce is a comedy written for the stage or film which aims to entertain the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include sexual innuendo and word play, and a fast-paced...
play by
Neil SimonMarvin Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. His numerous Broadway succcesses have led to his work being among the most regularly performed in the world...
.
At its start, several affluent couples gather in the posh suburban residence of a couple for a dinner party celebrating their host's tenth anniversary. When they arrive, they discover there are no servants, the hostess is missing, and the host - the deputy mayor of
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
- has shot himself through the earlobe. Comic complications arise when, given everyone's
upper classIn sociology an upper class is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area, but only to the extent that the power of the state can intervene in free exchange or distort...
status, they decide they need to do everything possible to conceal the evening's events from the local police and the media.
After eight previews, the
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
production, directed by
Gene SaksGene Saks is an American Tony Award-winning stage and film director.-Life and career:Saks was born in New York City, the son of Beatrix and Morris J. Saks...
, opened on November 17, 1988 at the
Broadhurst TheatreThe Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.It was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known theatre designer who had been working directly with the Shubert brothers; the Broadhurst opened 27 September 1917...
, where it ran for slightly more than a year before transferring to the
Ethel BarrymoreThe Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 243 West 47th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp and constructed by the Shuberts, it opened on December 20 1928 with The Kingdom of God, a play selected by leading lady Ethel Barrymore...
, for a total run of 535 performances. The original cast included
Lisa BanesLisa Banes is an American stage and screen actress. She played Lady Croom in the U.S. premiere of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in 1995 and won a 1981 Theatre World Award for her performance in Look Back in Anger. She has appeared in many movies and television series.She had a regular role as Mayor Anita...
,
Christine Baranski-Personal life:Baranski was born in Buffalo, New York, the daughter of Virginia and Lucien Baranski, who edited a Polish-language newspaper. She is of Polish descent and her grandparents were actors in the Polish theater. Baranski attended Villa Maria Academy, after which she studied at Juilliard....
,
Ken HowardKenneth Joseph "Ken" Howard, Jr. is an American actor, best known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in 1776 and the television show The White Shadow as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves. He was elected to be the president of the Screen Actor's Guild in September 2009...
,
Ron Leibman-Career:Leibman was a member of the Compass Players in the late 1950s. He has appeared in many films such as Where's Poppa?; The Hot Rock; Slaughterhouse-Five; The Super Cops; Up the Academy; Norma Rae; Romantic Comedy; Zorro, The Gay Blade; Garden State; and Rhinestone. He co-starred with second...
,
Joyce Van PattenJoyce Benignia Van Patten is an American stage, film and television actress.-Personal life:Van Patten was born in New York City, the daughter of Josephine Rose , a magazine advertising executive, and Richard Byron Van Patten, an interior decorator.She is the younger sister of actor Dick Van...
, and
Jessica WalterJessica Walter is an American actress, known for the film Play Misty for Me and for her role as Lucille Bluth on the sitcom Arrested Development. She recently had a starring role for the first half of season 1 of 90210....
.
Veronica HamelVeronica Hamel is an American actress.-Career:Hamel graduated from Temple University, worked as a secretary for a company which manufactured ironing board covers, then began a career as a fashion model after being discovered by Eileen Ford. Her first film role was playing a model in 1971's Klute...
,
Dick LatessaRichard Robert "Dick" Latessa is an American actor.Latessa was born in Cleveland, Ohio to a mother who was an automotive upholstery maker. Latessa made his Broadway debut in The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N in 1968...
,
Larry LinvilleLarry Lavon Linville was an American actor. He was perhaps best known for his portrayal of obnoxious, pious, self-important and inept surgeon Major Frank Burns in the television series M*A*S*H.- Career :...
, and
Alice PlaytenAlice Playten is an American actress and Voice actress. Playten is also the current voice of Felix the Cat.Born Alice Plotkin in New York City, Playten began her career in 1959 in the Broadway musical Gypsy. Additional Broadway credits include Oliver!, Henry, Sweet Henry, Hello, Dolly!, Rumors,...
were among the cast replacements throughout the run.
Baranski won the
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a PlayThis is a list of winners and nomination of the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress. The award was first presented in 1947.-1940s:* 1947: Patricia Neal – Another Part of the Forest* 1949: Shirley Booth – Goodbye, My Fancy-1950s:...
, and Joseph G. Aulisi was nominated for the
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume DesignThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee comprised of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
.