Ponca City High School Drama teacher and director of the Wildcat Theatre Co.

What is a farce? If you’ve spent any time at all in the theatre, you already know, but just in case you don’t: A farce is “a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically crude characterization within ludicrously improbable situations.” It is an old genre, far from a new or “cutting edge” art form–but it still exists today because it does one thing extremely well: It makes us laugh.

Neil Simon’s Rumors was written in the late 1980s and, typical of Neil Simon plays, it is extraordinary. It meets all of the criteria of a farce except in the area of character development. Although the text of the play does not fully flesh out the characters for us– the skillful handling by a director in utilizing a range of gifted actors can make the whole thing seem urgent, relevant, and above all: hysterical. The Ponca Playhouse production has found that perfect balance that makes Neil Simon’s farce not only possible, but relatable and screamingly funny.

We begin in an upscale living room in Sneden’s Landing, New York during what is ironically described as “A pleasant evening in May, 1989. Nearly every character is wealthy and more than a little bit snobbish. However, as the action progresses, we see them turn into ordinary human beings, governed by their fears and rife with bad choices. We open with Chris Gorman (Stacie Snyder) and her erstwhile husband, Ken (Blake Brown) in nothing less than a complete state of panic. They immediately pull us into the situation, an attempted suicide, by concerning themselves– with themselves, and the party that will be ruined if anyone finds out. It is at this moment that I must caution you to stay until the end of the play. Ryan Brown provides the sublime in the midst of the ridiculous with his extraordinary performance as Officer, bringing the voice of reason that ultimately adds fuel to the screamingly funny fire. Shelby Baker as the calm, cool, and collected Officer Pudney, provides the sensible life-preserver to which Officer Welch desperately clings.

We are then introduced to Claire (Jennifer Heitman) and Lenny Ganz (Chris Schelp) who arrive at the house fresh from a car wreck that not only ruined their brand new BMW but gives Lenny a serious whiplash so that his head is forced to one side making him appear as comical as a man can be in a tuxedo with a brilliant blue cummbund and bow tie. (More on him later.) Claire breezes in, the complete antithesis of her husband, all 80s big hair, and shoulder pads, with a fatalistic, if not realistic, view of the world and her place in it. Both Chris Schelp and Jennifer Heitman are Playhouse veteran actors and they show it, delivering at once annoying personalities, and endearing performances that are perfectly suited to the characters they play. Chris Schelp clearly gives the break-out performance of the night and in a cast like this one– that’s high praise indeed.

Add to that mix the most delightful of couples, Ernie Cuzak (Caroll Rue) and his wife Cookie (Sam Stuart). Ernie appears as a cheerful but sly kind of leprechaun who dotes on and adores Cookie who is something like a deranged Julia Child in a 50-yearold, Russian dress, with a seriously bad back. Even describing this couple brings a smile. Caroll is listed as a newcomer to Ponca Playhouse. However, he is the perfect partner for Sam Stuart (a veteran actress in any sense of the word) and the two of them breathe such life into the situation that you soon forget you are watching a play and are caught up in their riotous personalities, and side-splitting antics.

Other characters provide a needed counterpoint to the main plot line, and provide the provocative contrast with the other couples. Glen and Cassie Cooper (Stephen Long and Jessica Hinton) enter the fray with their own personal suspicions, pernicious distrust, and an intimate, though considerable, can-ofworms.

Rumors by Neil Simon is at the Ponca Playhouse November 11-13 and 18-20, 2022. It is for mature audiences but the laughter is universal.