TOM TITUS -- Theater Review

One test of a fine comedy is its ability to induce chuckles and

guffaws after repeated viewings. In this regard, Neil Simon’s “Rumors”

ranks in the upper echelon.

The production now on stage at the Newport Theater Arts Center is the

fourth -- but undoubtedly not the last -- produced in this area. It’s

also one of the best, exhibiting true ensemble excellence, and it is

hands down the funniest show of the year on a local community theater

stage.

Director Jack Millis has assembled a top-notch cast for this frenetic

farce, in which Simon tops his “Odd Couple,” “Plaza Suite” or anything

else in his bulging 40-year repertoire for sheer unadulterated hilarity.

And Millis gets the most out of every outlandish situation, building

sight gags on top of punch lines as the show whistles along at a pace

seldom achieved in community theater comedy.

Simon’s premise is an engaging one -- four couples, dressed to the

nines, assemble for the anniversary party of a fifth pair, whom we never

see but who are seldom out of our thoughts. The absent husband has taken

a bullet in the ear and is upstairs under sedation, the wife has

disappeared and the eight guests pile fabrication upon prevarication as

they attempt to put a positive spin on the strange situation, with all

the effect of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

The cast is uniformly excellent, but cream rises to the top, and in

this case the cream is the duo of David Colley and Adriana Sanchez, who

arrive in a state of disrepair, having crunched his new car along with

the anniversary present, a set of Waterford crystal.

Colley, who must spend the entire play with his neck crookedin a

whiplash-induced state, simmers in inadequately controlled rage,

finishing off the play with a hilariously formulated, seat-of-the-pants

monologue. Sanchez registers high on the comical scale with her

deer-in-the-headlights reactions. She doesn’t even get to sing, something

she does better than anyone in local theater.

Chaney Cramer, whose character has quit smoking and is dying for a

nicotine fix, sparkles with nervous anxiety. Her husband, skillfully

enacted by Thom Gilbert, has been too close to a gunshot and suffers from

near-deafness throughout most of the action.

Adding some more comically physical discomfort to the mix are Jillary

Gordon as a cooking show hostess with a painfully sore back and her

klutzy psychiatrist husband, taking a group therapy call offstage with

burned fingers, richly enacted by Jay Cramer.

Just when we think the situation couldn’t get any more strained, along

comes Mike Jensen as a preening politician and Lorianne Hill as his

tightly wound wife, concocting endless scenarios involving her husband’s

infidelity. Jensen excels as a smooth spin doctor, while Hill brings down

the house with her steely mannerisms and overtly enacted seduction

attempts.

The situation must be resolved, which is why Simon dispatches a pair

of police officers to the scene. Jack Rule effectively portrays an

elderly cop nearing retirement, while Terri Collins is his robotic

assistant with the sort of vacant mannerisms once used to great effect by

Keely Smith on television.

David Carnevale’s upscale, two-level setting is an ideal backdrop for

all the commotion, and the costumes of Donna Fritsche are appealing,

particularly Hill’s sultry wardrobe, which undergoes an unexplained

change.

“Rumors,” as written, is nonstop hilarity from its opening --literally

starting off with a bang -- to its tableau fade-out, which instantly

explains the situation the actors have been wrestling with all evening.

Even if you’re familiar with this play, you’ll cherish the Newport

rendition.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Thursdays and Saturdays.

FYI

WHAT: ‘Rumors’

WHERE: Newport Theater Arts Center, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach

WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Sundays until Dec.

17

COST: $13

CALL: (949) 631-0288