THEATER REVIEWS : The Farce Side : Huntington Beach Playhouse’s ‘Rumors’ Mostly Steers Clear of Sitcom Land

HUNTINGTON BEACH â€”  The 10th wedding-anniversary party of New York Deputy Mayor Charlie Brock and his wife, Myra, is a disaster. As the guests arrive at the Brocks’ tasty Sneden’s Landing home, there are no servants, Myra has vanished, and Charlie is upstairs, overdosed on Valium and with a bullet hole through his earlobe.

Neil Simon sidestepped from sitcom to farce for this one, and in the right hands his “Rumors� can be very funny. Farce requires different techniques than sitcom, and director Gregory Cohen seems to know the differences in rhythm and tempo in his staging at Huntington Beach Playhouse’s new space in the city’s recently expanded Library and Cultural Center.

The four couples invited to the party bring their own baggage of disaster with them, from infidelities to smashed BMWs to tobacco addiction to bad backs. To their dismay, they become entangled in a complicated game of deception, hiding the secret of Charlie’s trauma from couple to couple, misunderstanding each other’s strategies, defying logic and behaving very much like formally dressed Keystone Cops.

Martin G. Eckmann’s two-story living-room set looks almost plush enough to belong in Sneden’s Landing, except for pictures that sometimes wobble on canvas walls when doors are slammed.

In the same way, Cohen’s cast feels plush enough to be the upper-crust swingers they’re supposed to be, except for the first couple: Brock’s attorney, Ken, and his attorney wife, Chris.

Dennis Ure goes from being fairly controlled at the beginning of Act I to a state just a few notches over the comic top later on, at times striking grotesque postures and grimaces that are unnecessary and unfunny.

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Cyndi Mitchell, as his wife, is out of it throughout, playing funny instead of trusting Simon’s writing, a frenetic windup doll gone awry and getting her laughs as a sight-gag rather than from honest humor. Neither seem like attorneys worth their retainer.

The rest of the company rely on what Simon says and their own sense of the humor that can be mined by just acting their roles honestly. The laughs are in the script, and they get them with dignity and aplomb.

Most notable are Michael David and Melissa Dingwell, as Brock’s stockbroker and his wife. David has the bulk of shtick throughout and never hits a wrong note, controlled and comfortable. It’s also the control with which Dingwell performs, and her subtle comic style, that make her stand out.

Michael Ross underplays Brock’s clunky analyst friend Ernie with such flair that he can get laughs with a quick look or a reaction. Carole Hennessy balances Ross’ restraint nicely as his wife, Cookie, who cooks like TV’s Julia Child. Although she sometimes approaches overdoing her chronic backache, she never actually does.

Bill Vetro looks the state Senate candidate he plays, and his paranoia and gullibility are just right. That’s particularly true when he quails at his even more paranoid wife’s emotional fireworks, in Marnelle Ross’ nicely held-back performance.

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Bill Verhaegen is solidly authoritative as a cop come to investigate something that has nothing to do with the bullet hole in Charlie’s earlobe, but Evelyn Canady is miscast as his buddy, whose peering at the bottoms of candles and under glasses is as out of place as Mitchell’s contortions.

Other than the fine set, the production looks very sharp in the Playhouse’s new home. The seats are plush and comfortable, the sight lines excellent, the technical equipment resplendent and capable of servicing any theatrical requirement. Not many community theaters have as professional a plant to frame their work.

* “Rumors,� Huntington Beach Playhouse, Huntington Beach Library and Cultural Center, 7111 Talbert Ave., Huntington Beach. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m., Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Feb. 6. $9-$12. (714) 832-1405. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes. Cyndi Mitchell Chris Gorman

Dennis Ure: Ken Gorman

Melissa Dingwell: Claire Ganz

Michael David: Lenny Ganz

Michael Ross: Ernie Cusack

Carole Hennessy: Cookie Cusack

Bill Vetro: Glenn Cooper

Marnelle Ross: Cassie Cooper

A Huntington Beach Playhouse production of Neil Simon’s comedy, produced by Terri Foy-Verhaegen and Bill Verhaegen. Directed by Gregory Cohen. Set design: Martin G. Eckmann. Lighting design: Terri Foy-Verhaegen. Costumes: Kysa Cohen. Assistant director/stage manager: Mary Eckmann.