Rumors is a farcical comedy by Neil Simon that premiered at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in September 1988 before opening on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre that November.

Neil Simon himself described it as something entirely new for him, saying, “This is completely different for me…It’s unlike anything I’ve ever written. It’s my first farce.”

The play centers on the 10th anniversary party of Charley Brock, the Deputy Mayor of New York, which quickly unravels when guests arrive to find the kitchen staff gone, the host’s wife missing, and Charley himself having accidentally shot himself through the earlobe. As four couples gather throughout the evening, a web of wild misunderstandings, physical mishaps, and desperate cover-ups escalates from bad to worse. The guests must contend with a suspicious police officer, a nearly deaf Ken, Cookie’s back spasm, and Lenny’s neck injury — all while trying to keep the evening’s chaos under wraps.