Suffern High School students kick off the drama season Thursday night at the school auditorium with Neil Simon’s farcical play Rumors.
Staged by Kathy Muenz, the play’s story involves a dinner party of friends who gather to celebrate their hosts’ 10-year wedding anniversary. But their host is locked away in an upstairs bedroom with an odd 
injury that causes the guests to create any number of stories to cover for their friend, the deputy mayor. What follows is an oddball evening full of mixups and one-liners, where the play’s central character is never seen but is the focus of attention. Everyone has something to hide.
This year’s staging involves two casts, with some students alternating nights on center stage. Thursday night’s opening cast will perform again at Saturday evening’s final performance, and Friday night’s cast will perform again at the Saturday matinee.
Lead performers who stay the same throughout the production’s three day run include Ben Silver as Ken Gorman, Nick Gaglio as Lenny Ganz and Sammy Sandler as Ernie Cusack.
New York Times theater critic Frank Rich gave the play a backhanded compliment when it opened on Broadway, saying, “Rumors is to farce what a sitcom is to comedy” — not a bad thing at all when you’re going for the gut.
The big, mixed cast involves 17 students, and includes:
Ben Silver as Ken Gorman, with Alena Gallagher/Sophie Koreto sharing the role of Chris Gorman. Dunahay Pereyra and Kathryn Notley trade off playing Claire Ganz, with Nick Gaglio as Lenny Ganz. Sylvanna Gross and Grace Cunningham are Cookie Cusack, with Ernie Cusack played by Sammy Sandler. Ben Hack and Danny Klein are Glenn Cooper, while Cassie Cooper is played by Julia Schnurr and Kirsten Meehan. Nick Ruth and Liz Markelova share the role of Officer Welch, and Jessica Mailim and Deirdre Quinn play Officer Pudney.
Assistant Directors for the production include Laura Stedge and Deirdre Quinn.
Rumors opens at Suffern High School Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. and runs through Saturday, November 10. To keep track of ticket sales and performance dates, visit the Fall Play site here. Tickets are $12 and can purchased at the door before each performance.
