The Ivoryton Playhouse Presents ARSENIC AND OLD LACE 6/9

Some comedy never grows old: the hilarious wordplay of Whose on First; the visual double takes in Some Like It Hot, and the delicious black humor in Joseph Kesselring's "Arsenic & Old Lace" which opens the summer season in Ivoryton on June 9th.

Arsenic & Old Lace is a classic comedy about the sweet old Brewster sisters, Abbie and Martha, beloved in their genteel Brooklyn neighborhood for their many charitable acts. One charity which the ladies don't advertise is their ongoing effort to permit lonely bachelors to die with smiles on their faces--by serving said bachelors elderberry wine spiked with arsenic! When the sisters' drama-critic nephew Mortimer stumbles onto their secret, he is understandably put out--especially since he has just married the lovely Elaine Harper. Given the homicidal tendencies of his aunts, the sinister activities of his escaped-convict older brother Jonathan and the disruptive behavior of younger brother Teddy who is convinced that he's really Teddy Roosevelt, Mortimer isn't keen on starting a family with his new bride. "Insanity runs in my family," he explains. "It practically gallops." Further complications ensue when the murderous Jonathan Brewster arrives home, with his sniveling accomplice Dr. Einstein in tow. Arsenic & Old Lace is a frenzied, macabre, hilarious black comedy and, just like Martha and Abbie, has not aged a bit! If you like your comedy spiked with a little murder, then the stage is set for a delightful evening of murder and mayhem!

Julia Kiley directs this production with Dan Whelton* as the drama critic, Mortimer; Courtney Shaw* as his girlfriend, Elaine; Tom Libonate as Teddy; Robert Boardman* as the sinister Jonathan; R. Bruce Connelly* as his sidekick Dr. Einstein and Alden Murphy and Susan Pynn as the delightful Brewster sisters. Set design by Rachel Reynolds, lighting by Aaron Bresky, and costumes by Pam Puente complete the production.

Arsenic & Old Lace was written in 1939, and was supposedly based on the real life murders that took place in Windsor, CT in 1911. A silent, simmering killer terrorized New England in that year. As a terrible heat wave killed more than 2,000 people, another silent killer began her own murderous spree. That year a reporter for the Hartford Courant noticed a sharp rise in the number of obituaries for residents of a rooming house in Windsor, Connecticut, and began to suspect who was responsible: Amy Archer-Gilligan, who'd opened the Archer Home for Elderly People and Chronic Invalids four years earlier. "Sister Amy" would be accused of murdering both of her husbands and up to sixty-six of her patients with cocktails of lemonade and arsenic.
The Devil's Rooming House is the first book about the life, times, and crimes of America's most prolific female serial killer. In telling this fascinating story, M. William Phelps also paints a vivid portrait of early-twentieth-century New England. The author will be at The Playhouse on June 24th to speak about the book after the evening performance and will also sign copies.

Arsenic & Old Lace opens on June 9th and runs thru June 27th for 3 weeks. Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm. Tickets are $38 for adults, $33 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling The Playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or by visiting our website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.) The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton.

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