There is a common stage direction which reads Enter Laughing – and that is exactly what the Rockaway Theatre Company is doing with this season’s opener, Neil Simon’s Rumors.

This vintage Simon farce places believable people in unbelievable circumstances. Four couples arrive at the home of a friend to celebrate his tenth wedding anniversary only to find that the host has shot himself. Fortunately, the shot was executed rather ineptly. Throughout the evening, the guests engage in fumbling attempts to keep the facts, about which they have only scant information, first from each other, and then from the police, through a series of off-the-wall cover-ups which create a general chaos that is both very funny and very human.

Performances of Rumors will be given every Friday and Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. through July 1 at the Post Theater in Fort Tilden. On Saturday, June 18, a special Father’s Day matinee will take place at 2:00 p.m., followed by another performance at 8:00 p.m. A nominal admission will be charged at the door.