Troupe starting 'Rumors' again
To begin his new performance season, Stage 3 Executive Director Fred Elser decided to go back to where it all began with Rumors.
Stage 3, a Columbia County-based drama troupe, opens the new arts season Thursday with the classic Neil Simon farce.
"We did (Rumors) as our original opening show in our first season, and we're in our sixth now," Elser said.
Only a handful of the original 10-member cast returned to perform in the comedy, but Elser, who directed the first production and this one, said he believes his experience with the original will make the new performance better.
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"There are little innuendos I've picked up on since then that will make it a little better," he said. "Basically, the direction is the same but with an updated model. I'm still driving a Cadillac, just with a few extra features."
The cast of Neil Simon's Rumors, being produced by the Stage 3 drama troupe, rehearse a scene.
Photo by Donnie Fetter
The play is set at a 10th anniversary wedding party where the husband has been shot in the ear, and the wife is missing. As guests arrive, they each develop their own theories as to what happened.
"Neil Simon has farce down to a T. He is a great playwright," Elser said. "People may kind of turn their nose up at him, but he knows his business. He did as Shakespeare did. He writes for people of today."
Dinner theater productions of Rumors will be Sept. 4-6 at 7 p.m. at the Augusta Jewish Community Center at 898 Weinberger Way in Evans. A non-dinner matinee will be Sept. 7 at 3 p.m.
Tickets cost $30 for dinner and the performance and $15 for the matinee. Reservations are required for the dinner theater and are available by calling 228-3636 or 868-9663.
Dinner includes spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, salad and brownies.