Until April 26th, Metro Theatre presents the killer comedy, Arsenic & Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring.
Well known for its 1944 Frank Capra film adaptation starring Cary Grant, the classic black-comedy is directed by Catherine Morrison, featuring a skilled cast that offers excellent chemistry for such an eclectic cornucopia of characters – a pair of benevolently murderous old spinsters, their delusional nephew who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt, a Boris Karloff-lookalike escaped con and his drunkard plastic surgeon side-kick, a gaggle of dimwitted cops, plus two star-crossed lovers trying to make it or break it in the ensuing madness.
Centering on Michelle Collier and Sheila Keating as Aunts Abby and Martha Brewster, behind the facade of a sweet pair of kindly spinsters hides a macabre secret. Their successful nephew Mortimer (J.D. Dueckman) has become engaged to his beloved Elaine (Rachel Craft) but celebrations go awry as Mortimer uncovers some home truths. Kimball Finnigan earnestly plays Mortimer’s brother Teddy, who believes he’s President Theodore Roosevelt, breaking up the audience with his non sequitur dialogue that rolls off the rest of the characters’ backs. Rounding out the Brewster family is Hayden Clewes as Jonathan Brewster, the criminally-minded black sheep of the family who in a strange quirk of fate, looks like Boris Karloff. On the run with Dr Einstein, a plastic surgeon played by Tom Kavadias, who in a drunken stupor gave Jonathan Karloff’s face as a disguise after watching the horror star on screen. In a twist on the usual mistaken identity crime story, Arsenic & Old Lace creates confusion and comedy with its cavalcade of corpses, cops and the Panama Canal.
The cast is rounded out by Adrian Pryce, Adam Abrams, Dan Meredith and Garth Phillips as the police force, Simon Ruddell as Elaine’s Father, the Reverend Dr Harper, Brad Felton and Jon Morris as the Aunts’ potential ‘gentlemen’. Another star of the production is Set Designer Les Erskine’s luxurious recreation of The Brewster’s Brooklyn townhouse. Costume Designer Rene Schindel’s creations keep the play anchored in its 1940’s roots.
As usual for Metro Theatre productions the whole creative family comes together for another enjoyable presentation of live theatre that will bring a smile and laugh to your heart. Enjoy the murderous fun of Arsenic & Old Lace for yourself as it runs until April 26, 2025 at Metro Theatre, 1370 Marine Drive SW. Find showtimes and book tickets now by visiting metrotheatre.com