This year, Nanuet Theater has decided to put on Rumors by Neil Simon! Our very own musical choreographer, Kelcey Matheny, is stepping up to direct this wonderful production alongside Ms. Q, Allen Seward, Mrs. Sadoff, Mr. Brett, and Dr Skaba.
As the title suggests, this is a play about rumors. The first couple to arrive are Ken and Chris Gorman, played by Seniors Erik Rydqvist and Cindy Mazariego Angamarca. Chris Gorman is a lawyer who has recently quit smoking, but due to the stress, this causes her to drink a bit more than usual. Ken, her husband, is also a lawyer. Ken becomes partially deaf for half of the play due to a gunshot he accidentally sets off. With this, he becomes a very big comedic role. This couple must also help the host, who tries to “off himself” but fails and shoots himself in the earlobe instead.
As the next couple arrives, we meet Lenny and Claire Ganz, played by Seniors Liam Dowd and Jade Brown. Lenny becomes one of the most important roles with the most lines in the play. He is obsessed with his new BMW, but on the way to the party, they get into a crash. Throughout the night, his car continues to degrade, leading him to say, “I’m gonna bring my car home in an envelope.” Claire is a self-obsessed fashionista who thinks she is much smarter than she is. Claire insults one of the other characters, Cookie, for “wearing a dress like that to a party like this.”
The next couple to arrive are Ernie and Cookie Cusack, played by Senior Samantha Waxtel and Sophomore Sarah Lav. Cookie is a chef on a cooking show who suffers from extreme back spasms that cause her to be a very comical character. Cookie screams, cries, falls and even crawls. Her husband, Ernie, is a psychiatrist who is very caring towards his wife and is one of the more “logical” men of the bunch, although he always seems to state the obvious.
Lastly, we have Glenn and Cassie Cooper, played by Sophomores Audrey Mendler and Abbie O’Connor. Glenn is running to be a New York State Senator, so he is very hesitant when the cops (foreshadowing) ask for his name. Cassie is a crystal-obsessed psycho who is convinced Glenn has been cheating on her for “about 6 months now” Therefore, she becomes very paranoid, and after putting phone to face she starts flirting with all the men at the party, causing the three other women to get angry. Claire becomes so mad that she ends up saying, “Excuse me. I’m going up to get Charley’s gun.”
As the cops show up, they scramble to put a plan together, and surprisingly, they do it successfully. But soon, we find out that the cops are only there to talk about the car crash involving Lenny’s BMW. But Glenn, being Glenn, reveals that the group knows about the “gun shots”. In an intriguing turn of events, Lenny becomes Charley, Ken becomes Lenny, and at first, they have everything covered. But the cops, played by Sophomore Sloan Moritz and Senior Emma Walters-Diaz, are not buying it. So, Lenny comes out and puts on a show-stopping performance, and before you know it, the cops are on their way out, and we are still left to figure out if the story told was true.
To find out, come see Rumors by Neil Simon on November 7th or 8th, 2025, at 7 p.m. in the Nanuet Senior High School Auditorium.
Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance on the Nanuet Theater Instagram page.