'Rumors' Popular Neil Simon Play Coming to ACT

Amelia Community Theatre continues its 44th season with the Neil Simon comedy “Rumors.” Opening night is Feb. 7, with a preshow party at 6:30 p.m.

The play is set in the upscale home of the deputy mayor of New York City. Guests have arrived for a dinner party celebrating the deputy mayor's and his wife's wedding anniversary. Things take a turn when the deputy mayor is found upstairs bleeding, and there is no sign of his wife. The dinner is uncooked in the kitchen, and the servants have disappeared. Rumors and theories abound as more couples arrive and wonder where their hosts are. Absurd explanations are concocted to hopefully protect the deputy mayor from a lurid scandal.

The stress and the comedy intensify as the guests frantically deal with their own problems of back spasms, whiplash, and temporary deafness, all the while trying to figure out exactly what is going on.

“Rumors” was Neil Simon’s first farcical comedy, and he wanted an elegant looking farce, so he set it in a lovely house with actors dressed up for a party. The show opened on Broadway in 1988, with original cast member Christine Baranski winning the Tony for Best Actress.

ACT’s cast of 10 includes Audrey Antee, Isabelle Bournigault, Scott Campbell, Bob Duffy, Brandon Hester, Ron Price, Peggy Strickland, Jim Tipton, Judy Tipton, and Terri Witkowsky, and is directed by Jayme Taylor.

Performances 7:30 p.m., Feb. 7​-8, 13-15, 20-21 and 2 p.m. on Feb. 9, 16, and 22.

Tickets are $25 and $10 for students and are available online at Amelia Community Theatre or by calling 904-261-6749. The show is rated PG for adult language. The ACT box office at 207 Cedar Street is open from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays and 90 minutes before curtain on show dates.