On April 5-6 and 11-12, the Jesuit Theater program presented to many anxious audience members Neil Simon’s outrageously funny comedy Rumors. Hundreds of parents, students, and faculty members were pleased as they watched actors and actresses from Jesuit, Ursuline, and Booker T. Washington perform this hilarious show.
The show, set in 1950s New York, tells the hysterical story of four posh couples at a dinner party celebrating the anniversary of the owner of the house where the farce takes place. The play opens with husband Ken Gorman and his wife Chris panicking as they try to cover up the fact that their host, Deputy Mayor of New York Charlie Brock, has shot himself – in the earlobe. Supposedly Charlie’s wife Myra has left him and what is more, the entire kitchen staff of the affluent mansion is nowhere to be found. Thus, as friends Claire and Lenny Ganz, Ernie and Cookie Cusack, and Cassie and Glenn Cooper arrive, the story becomes hilariously twisted as they try to uncover the mystery. However, the police later arrive with reports of two gunshots, forcing the guests to conjure up a story to protect the integrity of their powerful friend.
Highlighting the April 6th show I attended were Jesuit students Thomas Spottiswood ’14 (Ken Gorman), Marshall Baird ’15 (Ernie Cusack), Shane McGoldrick ’13 (Glenn Cooper), and James Butterfield ’15 (Officer Welch), and their performances both individually and collectively were riotous and entertaining. However, the star of the show was undoubtedly senior Basil Seif (Lenny Ganz), who, to close the show, gave a hilarious monologue as his character posed as Charlie Brock and told the two police officers the most outlandish story, explaining everything from the gunshots to the wrecked BMW in the driveway. The crowd, almost filling the Jesuit Lecture Hall, roared with approval as his story came to a close, and his performance certainly made the night as special as it was.
Rehearsals for the show began in February, and with more than sixty students auditioning and only around a third of them being casted, faculty director Mr. David Myers says, “We have a tremendous amount of talent on campus right now.”
Myers, when asked why he picked Rumors for this year’s spring production, added, “I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Neil Simon. One of his other plays, ‘Biloxi Blues,’ was the first show that I directed for a high school cast, ten years ago.”
Though I only attended one show, there were two different casts that each performed two of the four nights that the show was offered, and Mr. Myers says, “the casts are surprisingly balanced — each with real ability. Our seniors have given really strong performances. It’s the sophomores and freshmen, like Chris Ayres, Marshall Baird, James Butterfield, Madison Murrah, Nebyat Teferra, Peyton Wilson, and Brittany Wierman who have been real surprises. In most productions, the younger actors just aren’t as strong. In this one, they keep up. It’s remarkable.”
However, Myers also stresses that even with the tremendous talent of Jesuit and Ursuline actors, the show just wouldn’t have been the same without the growing relationship that Jesuit Theater has with the Booker T. Washington School. “Booker T. Washington students spend at least four hours of each school day working on theater,” says Myers, “and as a result, they come to our production process is with a deep understanding of theory and process. They’ve lifted the level of our entire program, raising expectations about performance.”
Myers ranks this show as one of Jesuit’s top productions in recent years, remarking, “For the fourth year in a row, we are going to break our attendance record. Faculty now regularly orders over 110 tickets for our productions, and we have a brand new summer program this year. Our sets are better than they have ever been. It’s a good time to be a part of Jesuit Theater.”
Rumors certainly proves this assertion to be true, as myself and every other audience member in the lecture hall spent a good two hours keeling over with laughter at the outlandish farce taking place on stage. Everyone present surely gained a new appreciation for the talent and charisma of these actors and the creative influence of faculty directors Mrs. Miki Bone-Melsheimer, Mr. David Myers, and Mr. Joe Howard ‘04 as well as student director John Jackson ’14. The Jesuit Theater Program put on four great shows and surely will continue to do so each year going forward.
