Explaining the plot of Lake Braddock Theatre’s (LBT) spring show, Rumors, would be somewhat pointless. Rumors, a production written by Neil Simon, is a “farce,” meaning that it uses nonsensical events to create an indecipherable story; this incomprehensible style of production is, nonetheless, a comedy. Essentially, though, Rumors is the story of an aristocratic party in New York.

When the evening gets wonky, the party-goers try to hide the evening’s events from the police and the media. Shenanigans ensue.
“I’ve seen it a lot, and I still laugh at it,” stage manager senior Michelle Ross said.

The main cast (excluding understudies) consisted solely of seniors. These seniors have all held roles in previous LBT productions, so this show was a “last hurrah” of sorts for them. The seniors involved in Rumors were Nick Edwards (Ken Gorman), Marissa Chaffee (Chris Gorman), Will Miller (Lenny Ganz), Liana Quiñones (Claire Ganz), Kaitlyn Lunardi (Cookie Cusack), Alex Laney (Ernie Cusack), Madeline Long (Cassie Cooper), Liam Finn (Glenn Cooper), Levi Meerovich (Officer Welch), Arianna Coghill (Officer Pudney, properties manager), Antonia Tempesta (set designer), Asta Bjartmarz (makeup designer) and Michelle Ross (stage manager).

“It’s very bittersweet,” Laney said. “They’re sort of a second family to me.”

The seniors went out of their way to make this show special. This was evident in Tempesta’s set design. The two story set was “bigger than anything we’ve done since I’ve been here,” Ross said.

“This set took the whole department,” Tempesta said. “Everyone was either painting, building or taping. It’s 16 feet and two stories with seven functional doors. I wasn’t sure if I could do this design, but this group really supported everything I asked to do. I couldn’t be happier with it.”
After Rumors had its last “curtain call”—the final bows at the end of the show—the cast celebrated with a “strike” and miniature awards ceremony.
“We give out awards to the underclassmen for best newcomer guy and girl,” Long said. “The seniors sit around and cry while the set gets taken down. I was heartbroken, but a part of me knew it was time. I was happy to end my LBT experience with such an incredible show with an equally incredible cast. I really couldn’t have asked for a better way to say goodbye.”