Rumors [Paperback]

N. Simon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1990

Farce / 5m, 5f / Int. At a large, tastefully appointed Sneden's Landing townhouse, the Deputy Mayor of New York has just shot himself. Though only a flesh wound, four couples are about to experience a severe attack of Farce. Gathering for their tenth wedding anniversary, the host lies bleeding in the other room and his wife is nowhere in sight. His lawyer, Ken and wife Chris must get "the story" straight before the other guests arrive. As the confusions and mis-communications mount, the evening spins off into classic farcical hilarity. "Light, frothy and fun." - New York Post "Has nothing on its mind except making the audience laugh." - The New York Times "Neil Simon makes people laugh-a lot!" - USA Today "Not only side splitting, but front and back splitting." - NBC-TV

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Samuel French Inc Plays (June 1990)
• ISBN-10: 999143318X
• ISBN-13: 978-9991433189
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,230,326 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and well written, March 17, 2001

By 

Tom Reinstein - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rumors (Paperback)

Comedy is difficult to write, especially a play. Comedic plays (especially farces) must move quickly, or the audience is lost. Humor can get very stale if the situations do not change dramatically. Neil Simon said that Rumors was the hardest play he had to write because every line had to further the plot. I had the privilege of acting in this play, and I say with all sincerity that there is never a dull moment in this play. It is hilarious, with absolutely no redeeming social value. In an age where plays and movies must either be stupid comedies with outlandish plot twists and completely unbelievable characters or have dark humor with a depressing hidden message, it is nice to see a well written, straight forward farce where the jokes never get old, no matter how many times you see it and it is very easy to lose yourself completely when either watching it or acting in it. In Rumors, Neil Simon has written a gem of a play.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Modern Farce., September 7, 2005

By 

tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Rumors (Hardcover)

RUMORS was first performed in the early days of the 1990s. So much has changed since then. Yet, one of the tests of a classic is it's staying power. Though I wouldn't say that RUMORS is a classical comedy, it is a modern gem that has staying power.

RUMORS was written by Neil Simon. It takes place in upper Manahattan at the home of Charley and Myra Brock. The Brock's are holding a party to celebrate their 10th Wedding Anniversary. However, the first guests to arrive at the home, Ken and Chris Gorman, hear a gun shot. They find Charley upstairs bleeding from the head, Myra and the servants missing, and a bunch of frozen and half-thawed food in the kitchen. Soon after the other couples for the parties begin arriving and the Gormans do everything they can to keep the truth from leaking out until they figure out exactly what has happened.

I've acted in RUMORS twice and have thorougly enjoyed it both times. Performing in a Neil Simon play is always fun. However, the play does have one drawback. In his early days, Simon kept his plays from being too vulgar. However, since the mid 1980s, Simon's plays have become increasingly filled with foul language, making many of his unaltered shows unfit for family audiences. RUMORS was written near the beginning of this pattern, so though it's no ODD COUPLE, it's not as bad as some of his later shows either.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was very entertained with this work., April 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Rumors (Hardcover)

Mr. Neil Simon does a very skillfull job of creating a play that is very amusing but also shows many of the abilities of the human imagination. I love the ending in which there is no end, but you finish the book or walk out of the theater trying to figure out what happened to Charley, Myra, and the servants; just as the guests have been trying all night. Simon makes us a guest and I love it