GREENFIELD — The rumors are true. The Neil Simon classic, “Rumors,” will hit the stage at Greenfield-Central High School this weekend, with showtimes on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The award-winning play first debuted on Broadway in 1988 and has been making its way onto high school and community theater stages ever since.
According to playbill.com, Simon’s play tells the story of four couples who arrive at a 10th anniversary party for New York City’s deputy mayor and his wife, only to find the mayor wounded and the wife missing.
A comical series of events unfolds as the guests struggle to ascertain exactly what is going on.
“It’s a he said, she said type of story,” said Greenfield-Central’s drama instructor, Kristen Newlin, who joined the staff in March.
She said the murderous farce has been a fun production to direct.
The relatively small cast of 10 is a “small but mighty,” she said, with freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.
What’s not so small is the technical crew, which has about 65 members for this production.
“That’s surprising because our cast for ‘Mama Mia’ last year had about 50 kids in the cast and 20 crew members, so it’s a really big crew,” Newlin said.
She attributes the big group to a number of freshmen who wanted to join the high school drama crew after having a great experience doing local kids theater in intermediate school and junior high school.
“I think a lot of them really enjoyed that experience and brought their friends along to do it with them, so it’s all about finding that friend group and finding your place in high school,” she said.
Newlin is still finding her place, as well, having been on the job just eight months in her first teaching position since graduating from college after earning a degree in theater education at the University of Indianapolis.
“This is my first real year where I get to build my theater program and build upon what was already amazing about it,” she said. “So far it’s been a lot of fun. The kids are awesome and the school is amazing. They support everything we do, and the students come out to support us too.”
Newlin also gives big props to her student director, Anna Gustin, a senior who was chosen to assistant direct the “Rumors” production.
“We couldn’t have done this production without her. She has been a wonderful help to me and the cast, and has brought some really amazing ideas,” Newlin said.
Newlin also had high praise for the entire “Rumors” cast, including senior Anna Bernhardt, who delivers a three-page long monologue portraying Lenny Ganz, a sarcastic, outspoken member of the cast.
“Lenny is a guy, and I decided I wanted to take on a guy role this year. I’ve had to change my posture and the overall way I deliver lines. It’s definitely been interesting and a lot of fun,” said Bernhardt, 18, who has been in theater all four years of high school.
The young actress said it’s bittersweet knowing that “Rumors” is one of the last productions of her high school career.
“I definitely wanted to put a lot of effort into this show because it’s going to be one of the last ones I’m doing here, and one of the last shows in the school’s theater before the new auditorium is built,” she said.
As her teacher said, high school theater is where many students find their niche, and the same is true for Bernhardt.
“I feel like the theater department is such a good family, and it really shows when we’re on stage. We have such good chemistry that we bring on stage, and we have good chemistry off-stage as well,” she said.
“Rumors” takes the stage at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 and Saturday, Nov. 4 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for students. For reservations, visit GCdrama.org.
