TownSquare Players Presents: ARSENIC and OLD LACE

║ ║ ║ ║ ║

Irresistible fun for the whole family

The hilarious misadventures of the Brewster sisters give the holidays a slightly wicked twist. Anxious to help elderly gentlemen find a peaceful and final resting place, the kindly sisters administer a lethal elderberry wine and bury them in the cellar. Add to the madcap mix three nephews: one who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt, one who bears an uncanny resemblance to Boris Karloff and one who’s engaged to a minister’s daughter. Toss in a policeman who thinks he’s a playwright, sprinkle with a few corpses and you have the ingredients for a wild and nutty fruitcake – and one of the most hilarious and enduring comedies in American theatre.

Back Row: Ward Green, Lieutenant Rooney, Bruce Worthel, Officer O'Hara Tony Prater, Officer Klein, Steve Stuckenberg, Officer Brophy	Rob Scharlow, Mortimer Brewster Kim Scharlow, Elaine Harper
The Brewster Sisters Left to Right Sherry Tessler as Martha & Anne Marie Cina as Abby	O'Hara and Mortimer
Left to Right Tony Prater as Officer Klein, Dan Kreisman as Teddy Brewster, and Steve Stukenberg as Officer Brophy	Martha and Abby Jeff English as Dr. Einstein & Paul Lockwood as Jonathan Brewster

The year is 1941. The location is a small house next to a cemetery in Brooklyn. In this house live two kind, thoughtful, sweet old ladies, Martha and Abby Brewster who have developed a very bad habit. It appears that they murder lonely old men who have some sort of religious affiliation and they consider doing it a charity. They then leave it to their bugle blowing nephew Teddy (who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt) to take them to the Panama Canal (the cellar) and bury them. In this instance, the "poor fellow" in the window seat suffered from 'yellow fever.' It is another of their nephews Mortimer Brewster, a dramatic critic, who returns home only to find the man in the seat by mistake. Another nephew, Jonathan, returns to the home after years of fleeing the authorities due to his "unofficial practice" of killing people and using their faces to change his. However the results cause him to look like Boris Karloff (this angers him upon the mention of his similarity to the actor) due to the poor craftsmanship of his German accented, alcoholic sidekick Dr. Einstein. As the story continues, we see each character trying to find resolve in their suddenly been flipped upside-down lives. Mortimer tries to keep his aunts safe and prevent them from continuing their nasty habit while trying to stay sane with the woman he loves (Elaine Harper), the aunts try to continue their "charities", and Jonathan tries to make a wealthy practice that is stationed inside the home.

Above photos courtesy of Downtown Photo and Jim Pierce

Production Photos

Read the Review

Opening Nite Photos