An air of mystery, with a scent of humor, will fall over Poplar Bluff this weekend as the Poplar Bluff High School theater group airs its latest production.
“Rumors” follows the story of four couples who go to the mayor’s house to celebrate his 10th wedding anniversary, only to find that he’s been shot and his wife is nowhere to be found.
“He has attempted suicide, or so we think,” said Dawson Vaughan, who plays the character Ken. “He’s got a bullet hole in his ear. His lawyer is there trying to make sure nothing bad happens to him or this doesn’t affect poorly on his political career. As more and more of the group of friends show up, they keep getting thrown into this.”
Drama teacher Nicholas McDaniel said “Rumors” is the first show the group put on when it started in 2000. For the 20th season, he wanted the chance to bring it back.
For the students, it’s been a long rehearsal process, but they’re excited to perform the show in front of an audience.
“I enjoy the aspect of being able to make people laugh in the audience,” said Brent Hanley, who plays the character Ernie. “I find that aspect of it a lot of fun, being able to put a smile on people’s faces through each and every performance and making the memories throughout the months of rehearsal we’ve been preparing this. It’s a lot of memories in the making to last a lifetime.”
Saxton Powell, who plays the character Glenn, said one of his favorite parts of rehearsal has been improvizing when somebody makes a mistake.
“I like the in between jokes we make whenever we mess up or wait for a line,” he said. “We play a little joke and it’s always so good to hear. It always puts a smile on my face.”
Alyssa Miller, who plays the character Cassie, said her favorite part is the end of act one, which is when all the characters have arrived and only some know the situation.
“It’s so chaotic,” she said.
The students are confident they’ll have any kinks worked out for the weekend’s performances.
“Everyone’s so busy and we were having trouble with some things,” Vaughan said. “We’re getting through it day by day.”
“Hopefully, at the performance, it will be perfect,” Powell said.
“I feel confident we’ll be able to get that done,” Hanley said.
The show kicks off Friday at 7 p.m. at the Kay Porter Theater with shows on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.