‘Arsenic and Old Lace’

The Yardley Players presents a revival of this dark comedy at Kelsey Theatre.

By: Stuart Duncan
   Joseph Kesselring wrote a dozen plays, but only one was successful. Arsenic and Old Lace, which he penned while a teacher at a Kansas college, was a huge hit on Broadway, opening in January 1941 and running for 1,444 performances. It was made into a film with Cary Grant and since that time has become a staple for community groups across the U.S. The latest revival is by the Yardley Players and is being staged at Kelsey Theatre on the campus of Mercer County Community College in West Windsor.
   Kesselring was a graduate of Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., and after graduation, he returned to the school to teach. He lived in an old manor house on campus, known as Goerz House, and that structure became the setting for Arsenic, an old home in the fashionable section of Brooklyn in the 1940s.
   The play is a dark, yet hilarious tale of one very dysfunctional Brooklyn family. Nephew Mortimer, who just happens to have a job as a theater critic, discovers on the day of his engagement to a minister’s daughter that his beloved spinster aunts are serial killers, and that no fewer than 11 bodies are buried in the cellar with one more waiting on the living room settee. Add a brother who firmly believes he is Teddy Roosevelt and insists that the stairs are San Juan Hill, and therefore must be charged at every ascent, and a second brother, Jonathan, a confirmed psycho with at least a dozen dead bodies to his credit who just happens to "drop in" for a visit, and we have all the ingredients of a delicious farce.
   The 60-year-old work holds up well, even with a company that has a few flaws in the minor roles. Director Howard Matter (who plays a minor role with great panache) has plenty of firepower at the top of his cast list. Laurie Hardy is sweet and deadly as Abby Brewster, the role that catapulted Josephine Hull to stardom. She gets good support from Eve Connolly as her sister, Martha. The ever-busy Kurt Penney has a great time as nephew Mortimer, cleverly avoiding any suggestion of Cary Grant in the film role. Meredith McLeod, as his fiancée, has little to do except look pretty and act confused, both of which she does splendidly.
   Russ Weiss, as the bugle-blowing Teddy Brewster, is somewhat less of a force than customary and Rupert Hinton plays the villainous Jonathan with a hint of comedy, thereby canceling much of the threat. Incidentally, the character is described by one and all as "a Boris Karloff look-alike" (perhaps because Karloff played him in the original Broadway production). Jack Arrison plays the Peter Lorre part, complete with a fake German accent.
   They just don’t write these gems anymore. Go and laugh.
Arsenic and Old Lace continues at Kelsey Theatre, Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, through Oct. 15. Performances: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. Tickets cost $12, $10 seniors/students/children. For information, call (609) 570-3333. On the Web: www.kelseyatmccc.org