Starting Thursday, audience members will sit back and relax in the Raymond Moore Auditorium as they watch this year’s fall play — Rumors by Neil Simon. The elegant farce, set in the late 1980s, is likely to inspire roaring laughter and keep everyone on the edge of their seats.

Spectators will walk in and immediately notice the towering 16-foot set depicting an elegant home in Sneedings Landing, New York. The array of 80s-inspired costumes, electric makeup looks, and larger-than-life hairstyles transport adults back in time to their teenage years as the feeling of nostalgia sets in.

The basis of the play is simple: Socialites Charley and Myra Brock are set to host an intimate gathering to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary with their closest friends and colleagues. When the first guests arrive, to their shock, Charley has shot himself through the earlobe and Myra is nowhere to be found.

Throughout the show, the couples at the party are forced to cover up the situation at hand without threatening their own reputations in high society. As more guests continue to arrive, the level of hilarity gradually increases, for the entrance of every new character brings a slew of new obscure obstacles to the scandal.

Senior Kevin Staunton, a seasoned actor at LFHS, says the show has taught him to trust his own instincts and the intuition of others in the cast.

“It’s truly an ensemble show,” said Staunton. “Everyone has to interact with and react to each other in order for a scene to work. If one line is wrong, the whole show can easily get off track.”

Staunton plays the role of Ken Gorman, a cautious and methodical lawyer who constantly works to end the chaos throughout the show. He describes his experience with the part as, “a new challenge and a perfect way to start off [his] senior year.”

But the actors are certainly not the only ones who have dealt with challenges throughout this production. Tech crew, led this year by new tech director Ms. Mary Toledano, has put a dizzying amount of hours into creating the set, preparing sound and lighting cues, and ultimately making sure the operation runs smoothly for the actors on stage.

“In terms of effort, on a scale of 1-25, everyone on tech has put in at least a 30,” said junior Adrian Ye. “I am beyond impressed with the initiative and determination of the crew; this show has been one of the more challenging ones at this school, and I think all of our hard work will really pay off.”

After eight grueling weeks of work, these students only get three chances to show off their talent and aptitude. While it may seem short-lived, student director Laine Gamrath is confident that those three nights will truly speak to the accomplishments of everyone involved.

“These actors and crew members have put in so much hard work and have been so dedicated to this show, and the combination of a stellar cast, a skilled technical team, and an amazing script have made this show the most fun for me to direct over the course of my high school career. It is truly an impressive production,” said Gamrath.

However, performing is not the only rewarding aspect of putting on an elaborate production such as this. Senior Katie Finnegan, portraying the role of Cassie Cooper, a spiteful and materialistic housewife, spoke to the fulfillment she feels when taking on a character entirely different from herself.

“I don’t plan on ever becoming a trophy wife or using quartz crystals to calm my nerves, but I’ve had such a blast pretending to be a person who does. That’s what I think is so wonderful about theatre: you get the chance to put yourself in someone else’s shoes for a couple of months, and you figure out things about yourself that you never knew before.”

Spectators will walk in and immediately notice the towering 16-foot set depicting an elegant home in Sneedings Landing, New York. The array of 80s-inspired costumes, electric makeup looks, and larger-than-life hairstyles have been perfected in order to transport adults back n time and stimulate an instant feeling of nostalgia. It will certainly be a night to remember.

Rumors, directed by Mr. Joe Pulio, runs from Oct. 17-19 at 7 p.m. in the Raymond Moore Auditorium. You may purchase your tickets here: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=lfhs, or you may obtain them at the door. The show runs approximately 2 hours long and stimulated gunshots will be used throughout each performance.