In the mist of the chaos at Charlie Brock’s 10th anniversary,  Glenn, played by
Seth Walker (far left), explains to Officer Welch, played by Justin Davis (left), about
the lesser crimes of the evening. Meanwhile, Ken, played by Larry Heard (right),
and his wife Chris, played by Blake Tabor (far right), drop hints to
Glenn that he needs to quickly convince Officer Welch to leave.
The Lion's Roar / William Schmidt

 

The doors of the Vonnie Borden Theatre opened for the comedic release of the farce “Rumors.” 

From last Tuesday through Friday, 2009 Southeastern alumna Alicia Hanley directed the production with the help of fellow alumni and current students. 

“Rumors” is a slapstick style comedy written by Neil Simon’s that originally premiered at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, Calif. 

The production that led to a night of rumors started off with Ken, played by Larry Heard, and his wife Chris, played by Blake Tabor, at the 10th anniversary party of Charlie Brock and his wife Myra, played by Emily Nodine. Ken and Chris find the apartment devoid of Myra and the kitchen staff. The food is uncooked and Charlie appears to be passed out from Valium after shooting himself in the ear.  

As Chris and Ken debate on what course of action should be taken, the other guests begin to arrive for the anniversary party. 

MJ Ricks played Lenny, Angela Griffit played Claire, Felicity Prosperie played Cookie, Austin Cradic played Ernie, Mary Simmons played Cassie and Seth Walker played Glenn.

In the midst of conversation and confusion, Lenny joins Chris and Ken upstairs to learn that Ken had shot the gun off trying to move it, causing him to lose hearing. 

“Being deaf was my favorite part because it is awkward because you hear everything, and yet you have to act like you don’t hear anything,” said creative writing major Heard. “[One of the hard parts was] actually when I had the towel over my head. One of the lines, Lenny says something, and that is my queue to say something else. The towel was so tight, that I actually couldn’t hear him. So, it was an awkward pause. So I just went off on a whim and said something and it just so happened to be right.”

The extensive audience reaction propelled the actors’ performances throughout the show. 

“Whenever I say, ‘I never heard the gunshots,’ everyone in the audience was like that [jerk],” said Walker. “I could hear everyone. It actually makes me feel like that [jerk]. But, that was the whole point of it.”

As a mysterious phone call takes place, a police cruiser pulls up causing the guests to panic.

The guests come up with a scheme while the police are ringing the doorbell and turn up the music. The police barge in after the guests have already decided to act as someone else at the party while Lenny went upstairs to pretend to be Mr. Brock.  

The guests make up a story of why two gunshots were heard, but the police do not believe their story. 

Lenny comes out when the police ask for Mr. Brock giving an explanation of what had taken place throughout the evening, convincing the police and audience. 

“The most interesting part would definitely be MJ Ricks performance as Lenny, playing Charlie, giving a false story that almost seemed to be true,” said junior psychology major Angele Thibodaux. “I wasn’t expecting any of it. Everything came from a different corner, and you didn’t know what all ties were up. But eventually it all tied up together.”

As the guest head upstairs to find out what really took place, a surprise knock is heard by Myra who has been locked in the basement. 

The audience gave a standing ovation during the final bow of the actors.

MJ Ricks, who played Lenny (bottom), gave an extensive monologue to
Officer Welch in describing what really happened that night.
The Lion's Roar / Fernanda Chagas