Rumors A Farce Analysis

Rumors, a farce by Neil Simon, was directed by Carol Sutton and costumed by Will Lowry at Furman University. The farce featured outlandish characters with costumes that were crisp and sparkling that joined the characters’ social statuses and the anniversary they were supposed to celebrate. Lowry stated that with the costumes, he tried “reinforcing characters and playing with relationships.” The costumes represented each character and relationship well, but lacked success in conjunction with the set and period. Simon’s play is set in the 1980s at a deputy-mayor’s house in New York with upper class socialites. The costumes were jewel toned gowns for the women and tuxes for the men. Because dresses and tuxes form the 1980s are presumably hard to come by, the costume designer used modern found clothing and fabric to imitate the clothing of the period (Lowry). Therefore, the costumes did not exactly align with the time period. Popular elements of the 1980s were definitely incorporated into the designs, however, with peplums, bows, and outrageous shoulder articles for the women. As for the men, Glenn Cooper—the politician—wore the sleeve of his suit rolled up while Ken Goreman—the lawyer—wore a complete tux with a cummerbund and suspenders. …show more content…
The characters Lenny and Claire are the second couple to arrive and the first to start talking about spreading rumors. Both costumes featured frills to not only connect them as a couple, but to represent their frivolity with disseminating rumors around the group and country club. Meanwhile, Ernie ends up wearing a classic tux with a white apron and Cookie wears a gold, 1920s Russian-style dress of which she is picked on for wearing. The associations with the apron and the older dress signify them as the second-class citizens of this group, serving the rest of the couples dinner, drinks, and being mistaken as the