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Arsenic And Old Lace
by Joseph Kesselring
Two adorable old ladies, a cellar full of corpses, and a nephew who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt make this one of the zaniest and fastest paced comedies ever to hit the stage.
Drama critic Mortimer Brewster is a frantic, distraught nephew of the two gentle, sweet old Brewster sisters, Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha, known for their many charitable acts in their Brooklyn neighborhood. One of their charitable acts is to lonely old men with their homemade elderberry wine with arsenic), to end their loneliness, and then to bury them in the cellar. (With a proper Christian ceremony, of course).
They are assisted by their eccentric, bugle blowing nephew, Teddy who thinks that upstairs is San Juan Hill and that the cellar is the Panama Canal.
Theatre critic, nephew Mortimer, stumbles upon a dead body in the window seat, and believing Teddy is responsible wants to get him committed for the act. When Aunt Abby tells Mortimer they know about the body ("Yes, dear, we know.. Just forget you ever saw the gentleman. We never dreamed you'd peek!"), he is shocked to learn their secret.
The lunacy is enhanced when Mortimer's long lost brother, Jonathan, an insane and murderous Boris Karloff look-alike and his companion, demented plastic surgeon Dr. Einstein show up.
Throw in a strong supporting cast and you have an evening of humor. A true classic of American theatre.
Cast
Abby Brewster ------------------- Nancy Liss
The Reverend Dr. Harper ------------------- Russ Kelley
Teddy Brewster ------------------- Bill Griffith
Officer Brophy ------------------- Dan Kruger
Officer Klein ------------------- Bob Mette
Martha Brewster ------------------- Barb Kelley
Elaine Harper ------------------- Penny Meyer
Mortimer Brewster ------------------- Mark Vail
Mr. Gibbs ------------------- Bobby Cox
Jonathan Brewster ------------------- Gordon Zuber
Dr. Einstein ------------------- Ruben Boyajian
Officer O'hara ------------------- Dave Parker
Lieutenant Rooney ------------------- Barry Schaefer
Mr. Witherspoon ------------------- Dr. James C. Graham
Synopsis Of Scenes
The Entire Action Of The Play Takes Place In The Living Room Of The Brewster Home In Brooklyn. Time: Around 1940.
Act I
An Afternoon In September Act II
The Same Night
Act III
Scene 1: Later That Night Scene
2: Early The Next Morning