The Western Stage’s Arsenic and Old Lace Offers a Lighthearted Escape

 

The Western Stage continues its 30th Anniversary June 3 with Joseph Kesselring’s classic 1941 comedy Arsenic and Old Lace. Abby and Martha Brewster are the kindest and most charitable aunties a person could have, but when their nephew Mortimer discovers that their charity now extends to poisoning elderly men and burying them in the basement, his world becomes an outrageously macabre farce. Arsenic and Old Lace plays Fri and Sat at 8:00 PM, and Sun at 2:00 PM through July 2 in the Studio Theater, Hartnell College Performing Arts Building. Season tickets are still the best value. Reserve your seats by calling the ticket office at (831) 755-6818 or visiting our website at westernstage.com. (114 Word PSA)

 

The Western Stage continues its 30th Anniversary Pearl Jubilee in 2005 with one of the most successful comedies to grace a Broadway stage: Joseph Kesselring’s macabre farce Arsenic and Old Lace. Abby and Martha Brewster are two of the friendliest and most charitable women in all of Brooklyn. They feed sick neighbors, look after a mentally ill nephew, and even cared for Reverend Harper’s wife before she died. As Reverend Harper himself says, “If I know what pure kindness and absolute generosity are, it’s because I’ve known the Brewster sisters.” Yet, this sweet façade soon crumbles when Mortimer, their sane nephew, discovers the body of an elderly boarder in the window-seat of their home and learns that his beloved aunts have taken their charity to new extremes by poisoning elderly bachelors and burying them in the basement.  Abby and Martha, however, do not see this as murder, but rather as a public service helping lonely, old men find a little peace. One would think the situation could not get any worse, but, as Kesselring shows, it certainly can when a third nephew, a serial killer named Jonathan (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Boris Karloff), shows up at the front door with his partner in crime, Dr. Einstein—the plastic surgeon, not the physicist. What ensues is a madcap farce whose clever combination of satire, irony, and slapstick made it one of the most enduring comedies of the last century.

 

Although Joseph Kesselring wrote at least eight other plays, he never found the same success as he did with Arsenic and Old Lace, whose various post Broadway incarnations include a 1955 television adaptation, a film version starring Cary Grant as Mortimer and, appropriately, Boris Karloff as Jonathan (which he also played in the original Broadway run), and countless regional theatre productions. There were several reasons for this play’s initial success, but the main reason was the show’s timing—not just its comedic timing, but, more importantly, its historical timing. Arsenic and Old Lace made its Broadway premiere on January 10th, 1941 during a period of great uncertainty in America and the world. As the United States was pulling itself out of the mire of the Great Depression, Europe was embroiled in what would evolve into the most horrific war in modern times. The absurd and lighthearted comedy of Kesselring’s Arsenic and Old Lace provided the perfect escape for an American public living in the shadow of Nazi Germany. Now, over sixty years later, Arsenic and Old Lace once again offers Americans a lighthearted escape…unfortunately from shadows just as dark and terrifying as those looming 65 years ago. (More information can be found in the supplemental article.)

 

This is TWS’ second production of Arsenic and Old Lace. The first production was in 1984, and featured local stage veteran Hal Peiken in the role of Teddy, the Brewster sister’s delusional nephew whose convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is indeed Teddy—Teddy Roosevelt that is. Peiken is signed on to reprise the role of Teddy this spring and resume digging the Panama Canal in the Brewster’s basement.  

 

Arsenic and Old Lace is directed by TWS instructor and scene shop foreman Chris Graham (Golf with Alan Shepard, 1999).. 

 

Arsenic and Old Lace plays in the studio theatre, Hartnell College Performing Arts Building, June 3 – July 2. Performances are Fri and Sat at 8:00 PM, and Sunday at 2:00 PM. Season subscriptions are still the best bargain saving patrons over 50% off the ticket price. Tickets are $17 General Admission, $14 Seniors/Juniors/Military and are available through the box office at 755-6818 or online at westernstage.com.

 

Also, do not miss TWS’ other upcoming summer productions including Cole Porter’s Anything Goes July 16 – August 6, and John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row August 5-28. In the fall, TWS’ season continues with Bat Boy the Musical, The Waiting Room, Victor Villianseñor’s Rain of Gold, The Cherry Orchard, and Wind in the Willows.

 

Dan Tarker

Literary Associate

 

Directed by Chris Graham

Scenic Design by Lynne Willis

Light Design: Jim Hultquist

Costume, Makeup & Hair Design by Kathrine Ogletree

Sound Design by David Meyer

Stage Management by Devon O’Donnell Fisher

 

CAST

 

Elaine Harper…………………………. Kay Akervik

Reverend Dr. Harper…………………..Pat Stanford

John Brewster …………………………Jeffery T. Heyer

Martha Brewster……………………… Roo Hornady

Abby Brewster…………………………Susan Keenan

Dr. Herman Einstein…...………………Jeff McGrath

Rooney…………………………. ………Patrick McGreal

Officer Brophy…………………………Bumper Metcalf

Officer Klein….…………………………Greg Paroff

Teddy Brewster……….……………… ..Hal Peiken

Officer O’Hara…………………………Cleveland Smith

 Mortimer Brewster……………………Ryan Tasker

Mr. Gibbs………………………………John Trapani

Mr. Witherspoon………………………Bill Wolack