Leaving the audience in a fit of giggles and laughter, the Manhattan High School theater department pulled of a successful production of the show “Rumors,” originally produced by Neil Simon.

After their last show being a musical, the thespian troupe opted for a comedic play featuring a smaller cast. The show is particularly humorous and features a lot of literal and physical comedy. Despite its small cast, the student actors enjoyed their roles and performing together.

“[Musical theater] is good stuff, but it’s not super focused on the acting,” senior Claire Todd said. “I had a good time doing physical comedy, which was something I had never really done before.”

Todd had played the role of an elderly woman named Cookie who suffered from a back spasm. She has also been taking part in MHS theater productions through all of her high school years.

It isn’t just a one-man show, however. The small cast of student actors all worked together to put on a show for their audience of parents, friends, teachers and even strangers.

“It was a really exhilarating experience because I had never had a part like this before,” senior Creighton Glasscock said. “I spent a lot of time on stage and I had a big role in production, and it’s really exciting to be in front of an audience with a part like that.”

Glasscock had played the role of Lenny Ganz, who is one of the first to arrive to the party taking place during the show who also had just been in a car accident. Glasscock, like many other thespian seniors, has been participating in shows throughout high school.

The show, however, would not be able to run without the help of a technical crew.

“I think, for me, it was a really easy show,” assistant stage manager Gabrielle Smith, senior, said. “I’ve done other shows and so this one compared to others had a lot less big pieces and stuff so it was a really easy show, low stress, and I think it all went really well.”

Smith can often be found behind the scenes of many theater productions at MHS and had a lot of history and experience working with theater, so much so that she hopes to pursue it as a career.

“[Theater] is so much fun,” Todd said. “It’s like building a family and just having this relationship with all of these people. … It’s just really nice making these connections with people and working together to create something together. I think it’s an experience you can’t find in many other places.”