Forget March Madness. Brevard’s got its own dream team lined up for Melbourne Civic Theatre’s revival of “Rumors.”
Indeed, there is an element of community theater legend in this production of the Neil Simon farce. Some of the area’s best-known comic actors have performed in it multiple times – together.
Their previous productions sold out and this new one, opening March 23 in the intimate, 93-seat venue in Melbourne, is quickly following suit. Within hours of tickets going on sale, the first two Sundays sold out and many performances only have a scant number of seats left. Plans are already being made for additional performances.
“I don’t know if there’s a cult surrounding it, but I know a lot of people are excited about seeing it again,” said actor Terrence Girard, who for the fourth time plays Leonard in the show.
Written in 1988, Simon’s “Rumors” ran for a year-and-a-half on Broadway. Directed by Gene Saks, it had a host of big-name actors including Christine Baranski, who won the Tony for her turn in it.
The story takes place north of New York City in a politician’s comfortable home in Snedens Landing, a ritzy enclave on the Hudson River. Friends are about to gather to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the politician’s marriage.
“It begins with a gunshot and never stops,” said director Peg Girard, who also is reprising her role of Cookie. Like her husband, Terrence, this is her fourth time in the show.
The first couple to arrive at the home are Ken and Chris Gorman, both lawyers. They decide it is in the politician’s best interest to keep the gunshot accident in the dark.
More characters arrive, including gossips, a psychiatrist, an accountant with whiplash and a TV cook with back spasms.
The plot becomes increasingly frantic with the arrival of each new character and with the fibs unraveling about the gunshot, the never-seen politician and his missing wife.
It’s basically “add water and stir” for this troupe. “It’s very fast and it’s fun,” Peg Girard said. “We’re having a blast in rehearsal.”
Her cast echoes that sentiment.
“We are so in tune with each other,” said Bob Campbell, who plays Ken Gorman for the fourth time. “We know how the other actors work and how they’ll respond. We all know how to play off each other.”
The ensemble’s first time in the show was in 1992 at the old Phoenix Theatre directed by Rodney Fairbanks. At the request of its patrons, the Phoenix reprised the show in 2004. After the Phoenix closed, the ensemble regrouped at the old Theater Company of Palm Bay, where the show was produced in 2008.
Campbell used to be a frequent face in Brevard’s community theater scene and made quite a name for himself in both dramas and comedies at the Phoenix and the Theater Company. A few years ago he moved north to take care of his family’s natural gas, oil and lumber business and eventually settled outside Washington, D.C.
The last show he did here was the 2008 production of “Rumors,” which was directed by Peg Girard.
When Girard knew she was going to do this show again, she decided to call Campbell and offer him the role. She told him that his “old cohorts” would be doing the show as well, prompting an immediate “yes” from Campbell.
“I figured this will be the fourth and probably last time I do this role because I’m getting up there in age. In the first 10 minutes of the show I’m running up and down stairs 15 to 20 times. It kicks my butt.”
In addition to casting her husband Terrence, Peg Girard also called Adrian Cahill right away. It will be the third time playing the psychiatrist for Cahill, who is British.
He said people jumped at the opportunity to reprise their roles or even take on different ones if need be.
“She said hey, we’re doing ‘Rumors’ again, and you’ll either do this or you’ll never work in this town again,” Cahill said, with the droll humor of his homeland. “But I couldn’t bear think of someone else being Ernie. I would hate being in the audience watching it and not being a part of it.”
The newcomers to the family, if you will, are Sandy Ganio and Rita Moreno. Make that Brevard resident, Rita Moreno.
Moreno will be playing the role of Cassie Cooper, a jealous woman who uses a quartz crystal to get back to center.
Opposite her is Steven Wolf, a very popular area actor who swings effortlessly from drama to comedy and who used to be a professional actor in New York. This is Wolf’s third time in the play.
Most recently, Moreno and Wolf portrayed another married couple in Melbourne Community Theater’s production of Arthur Miller’s drama “The Price.”
“It’s all so new to me,” Moreno said. “It’s been fun watching the original cast go through the show. I’m just laughing out loud and I’m having a good time of it. It has a following and a history.”
“Rumors” runs through April 30 at Melbourne Civic Theatre, 817 E. Strawbridge Ave. Tickets are $29 and $31. Call 321-723-6935 or visit MyMCT.org.
