Eight stars from Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise will make their Off-Broadway debuts in a revival of Neil Simon’s 1988 comedy Rumors, beginning in January 2027. The production will feature two casts, bringing together Lisa Rinna, Phaedra Parks, Stacey Rusch, Dolores Catania, Cynthia Bailey, Eileen Davidson, Carole Radziwill and Candiace Dillard-Bassett.
Lisa Rinna, Phaedra Parks & six Housewives join Rumors
Deadline reported that the 14-week run will take place at the Newman Mills Theater at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space. Rinna, Parks, Rusch and Catania will perform from January 9 to February 28, followed by Bailey, Davidson, Radziwill and Dillard-Bassett from March 2 to April 21. The first preview is scheduled for January 9, with the official opening set for January 25.
While seven of the Housewives will make their New York stage debuts, Rinna has previously appeared on Broadway in Chicago. She is also set to appear in the Broadway “radio play” of It’s a Wonderful Life during the holiday season.
Zhailon Levingston, who directed Broadway’s Cats: The Jellicle Ball last season, will direct the revival. Benson Drive Productions, led by CEO George Strus, will produce the show.
Levingston said he hopes to introduce a new generation to Simon’s comedy while preserving its original text. “What excites me,” he continued, “about reimagining Rumors through the lens of The Real Housewives is how naturally these two worlds collide. Without changing a single word of Simon’s brilliant text, we can reveal something new in the piece: The delicious chaos that unfolds when private lives become public spectacle.”
The comedy follows four couples attending a party in an affluent New York suburb. Their evening takes an unexpected turn when they find their host in an alarming state, discover his wife is missing and learn that the police are on their way.
The official synopsis describes the situation as follows: “Reality was just rehearsal. When four couples gather for a party in a wealthy New York suburb, they expect champagne, revelry, and a night of good fun. Instead, they find their host in an alarming state, his wife missing, and the police on their way. Talk about a dinner party from hell!”
