Student theater troupe Lost Flamingo Company presents the Neil Simon farce, Rumors. Check it out this Saturday and Sunday.
Neither the audience nor the characters know what is truly going on in the Lost Flamingo Company’s first show of the semester, Rumors.
A farce by Neil Simon, Rumors centers on the anniversary party of Charlie and Myra Brock. Myra is missing and Charlie has shot himself in the earlobe. Ken and Chris Gorman are the first guests to arrive and try to keep these events secret as the other three couples arrive.
LFC, a student theater troupe, is producing the play Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s performance will take place in Baker University Center Ballroom. Sunday’s show will be in Baker Center Theater.
“I fell in love with the script when I first read it because it’s an incredibly funny show and I knew it would be a fun one to work on because there’s a lot of quick humor in it,” said Olivia Malmsten, the director of the show and a sophomore studying early childhood education. “I love (Neil Simon’s) work … it’s just really fast-paced and so many things are going on at once.”
Rachel Gaunce plays Chris Gorman, who recently quit smoking, which Gaunce said, leads to a lot of comedic moments.
“Chris is assertive and wants to take control of the situation, so she’s stressed but she can’t smoke. So she turns to drinking and gets progressively more drunk throughout the show,” said Gaunce, a freshman studying theater and environmental studies. “It’s something I’ve never done before, so that’s been fun to play with.”
Gaunce added all of the other characters have “strong, distinct personalities,” making the characters’ interactions “laugh out loud (funny).”
Schuyler Fastenau plays Lenny Ganz, a character he enjoyed playing because he is “a sarcastic, quick-witted asshole.” Near the end, Lenny has a long monologue that finally explains the entire situation to the audience and characters.
“I think in a way I’m sort of him in real life but toned down,” Fastenau, a junior studying journalism, screenwriting and producing. “He says the things that a lot of the time I want to say but don’t have the guts to say. Getting to portray him on stage is like my inner self — that I’d like to have in real life — is kind of emerging.”
Fastenau said he knows the first performance will occur during Mill Fest but encourages people to attend because the show will run under two hours.
“I think it’s a show where you can go and expect to laugh pretty much throughout the entire thing, and that’s something that will be really fun,” Malmsten said.
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