Centre Stage opens ‘Season of Icons’ with Neil Simon farce

Centre Stage is kicking off its new season with a comedy that demonstrates just how much fun can come from a story of high-spirited chaos.

Neil Simon’s “Rumors,” directed by John Fagan, takes the stage on Sept. 17-Oct. 4 to open “A Season of Icons.”

For Fagan, the production marks his first opportunity to direct a full-fledged farce in quite some time — and his first crack at “Rumors.”

“I love doing farces,” Fagan said. “The show is killer. It just makes you laugh and have fun.”

First produced in 1988, “Rumors” is Simon’s only full-length farce. Simon had recently completed more serious works, including “Lost in Yonkers,” when he decided he wanted to write something simply designed to make people laugh.

“Rumors” centers on a group of wealthy New York couples who gather at a dinner party only to discover that something has gone terribly wrong. As they try to conceal the situation from arriving guests and the police, increasingly elaborate explanations and misunderstandings pile up.

“It just builds and builds and builds until it explodes,” Fagan said.

It’s a challenging work for actors, Fagan said, requiring precision as much as nonstop energy. And although farce invites plenty of physical comedy, Fagan said every bit of schtick must remain firmly rooted in character and serve the story.

Laura Nicholas, executive artistic director of Centre Stage, said “Rumors” is particularly meaningful to her because it was the first show she saw at Centre Stage in 2012 when she was considering different theaters. The experience helped persuade her to become part of the organization.

Musicals and Fringe

It also provides an appropriate introduction to the theater’s “Season of Icons,” she said. The season celebrates iconic performers, characters, stories and writers — beginning with Simon, whom Nicholas calls an iconic figure in American theatre.

The season continues with “Million Dollar Quartet Christmas” (Dec. 3-20), “Ain’t Too Proud” (March 11-27), “Mean Girls” (May 13-30), “The 39 Steps” (June 24-July 11), and “Once Upon a Mattress” (Aug. 12-29).

The theater also will continue its Fringe programming in January and February, including “Marjorie Prime” (Jan. 14-17), a play exploring artificial intelligence and memory.

For now, though, Centre Stage is inviting audiences to start the season with something considerably less complicated than contemplating the future of AI: a good, old-fashioned evening of things going hilariously wrong.