The entire action of the play takes place in the living room of the Brewster home in Brooklyn. Time: 1941
ACTI
An afternoon in September.
ACT II
That same night.
ACTIII
SCENE 1: Later that night.
SCENE 2: Early the next morning
The intermission between the first and the second acts will be 15 minutes.
The intermission between the second and the third acts will be 5 minutes.
Every family has its secrets – and it’s no different for the Brewster family! Drama critic Mortimer Brewster comes home to announce his engagement to his family, but he soon discovers that his sweet spinster aunts have been cheerfully poisoning lonely elderly men with elderberry wine (as an act of mercy!). Can Mortimer be loyal to his family and to the law? And can he prevent his bride-to-be from discovering the skeletons in the Brewster family closet? Mayhem meets the macabre in this classic black comedy.
Joseph Otto Kesselring was born in New York City on June 21, 1902. His career was always linked in some way to the theatre. His early years were spent as a singer (boy soprano and adult tenor), and at the age of 20, he began teaching music and directing amateur theatre productions at Bethel College, a Mennonite school in North Newton, Kansas. At 23, he left academia to pursue acting, writing short stories, and producing vaudeville plays. He acted professionally in the 1926 production of Gentleman Prefer Blondes at the age of 24 and, at 31, one year after his marriage to Charlotte Elsheimer, he devoted himself to writing, continuing to pen short stories and initiating his career as a playwright. Between 1933 and his death in 1967, he authored 12 plays — mostly light comedies. His first play to be produced, Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men, premiered in 1932, and a film version of it was released by RKO Pictures in 1933. Four of his later plays were produced on Broadway: There’s Wisdom in Women (1935), Cross-Town (1937), Arsenic and Old Lace (1941), and Four Twelves Are 48 (1951). He died on November 5, 1967, at the age of 65.
Abby Brewster……April Deming
Martha Brewster……Tammy Carder
Reverend Harper……Scott Crim
Mortimer Brewster……Keon Dalziel
Teddy Brewster……Adam C. Alderson
Elaine……Amanda Vigneault
Jonathan Brewster……Dimitri Georgiadis
Dr. Einstein……Noah T. Lee
Mr. Gibbs……Eric Steckel
Officer O’Hara……Mason Shuman
Officer Klein……Elijah Blower
Officer Brophy……Mitch Meyers
Lieutenant Rooney……Ken Young
Mr. Witherspoon……James Rizopulos
Understudies
US Elaine……Allison Cirner
US Mortimer……Scott Crim
US Abby and Martha……Lorena Goold
US Einstein and Teddy……Brian O. Jackson
US Male Ensemble……Toussaint English
Before it became known as Arsenic and Old Lace, playwright Joseph Kesselring first titled his play Bodies in the Cellar. After he wrote it in 1938, he sent it around to several theatrical producers – but no one bought it. Eventually, he sent it to the famed Broadway writing team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, who were the toast of Broadway thanks to their massive hit show Life with Father (which today still stands as the longest-running non-musical play on Broadway). The story goes that Lindsay’s wife, Dorothy Stickney, was waiting for him one evening and began rifling through the pile of scripts on her husband’s desk. She picked up Bodies in the Cellar and began to laugh – and then she insisted her husband and creative partner take a look at it. Lindsay and Crouse bought the producing rights to Kesselring’s play but asked him to make a few revisions (and some literary scholars have suggested that Lindsay and Crouse probably rewrote some portions of the play themselves, imparting their own comic magic).
Arsenic and Old Lace opened at the Fulton Theatre in New York City on January 10, 1941. The comedy was an immediate hit, and the opening night review from The New York Times declared that the play was "so funny that none of us will ever forget it." The show ran for 1,444 performances before closing in 1944. The original Broadway company included Boris Karloff as Jonathan Brewster – an inspired bit of casting considering his character is supposed to look like the famed horror movie actor. Jean Adair originated the role of Martha Brewster alongside Josephine Hull as Abby Brewster – and the pair would also recreate their roles for director Frank Capra’s movie adaptation, which was released by Warner Brothers in 1944. In fact, the movie was shot in late 1941 – but the Broadway producers insisted that the film not be released until the show closed in New York. Cary Grant starred as drama critic Mortimer for the film, and Peter Lorre played Dr. Einstein. And when Boris Karloff was unable to get a leave of absence from the Broadway show to recreate his role as Jonathan for the film, Raymond Massey was hired for the part.
This production marks the fourth time Weathervane Playhouse has produced Arsenic and Old Lace. The prior productions were in 1943, 1962, and 2003.
Thank you to Jack-Anthony Ina, Christopher Pepe, and Kevin Lambes
Set Construction Crew
Elijah Chase
Dale Gilbert
Micah Harvey
Kathy Kohl
Dave Moledor
Richard Morris, Jr.
Electrics
Master Electrician: Micah Harvey
Electricians: Van Wornkey
Production Technicians
Lighting Programmer: Jack-Anthony Ina
Sound Board
Robin Ungerleider
Toussaint English
Costume Construction Crew
Beth Desberg
Wynne Gavin
Millie Keyser
Sabrina Kim
Lindy Lincicome
Pat McRowe
Jasen J. Smith
Costume Inventory
Jenny Banker
Pam Groom
Jasen J. Smith
Wardrobe Crew
Makenna Bird
Elena Klingler
Jasen J. Smith
Backstage
Andrew Allen
Jeannie Clarkson
Doug Fidler
Ken Hardman
Alyssa Miller
Sara Vollman
Front-of-House
Adam Alderson
Jenny Banker
Steve Brown
Jeannie Clarkson
Doug Fidler
Patti Gabb
Tim Gabb
Melissa Jindra
Bria Kastner
Jim Kelly
Marcia Korane
Bunny Lacey
Sadiah Slay Larkin
Kate Lombardo
Ron Marmaduke
Patti McCoy
Liz Neuenschwander
Marci Paolucci
Brad Rito
Katie Rito
Martha Rodenborn
Nancy Shorts
Nancy Stanforth
Eric Steckel
Katie Stillitano
Verna Vander Kooi
Sara Vollman
Sean Vollman
Wardrobe Crew
Makenna Bird
Elena Klingler