A Glass of Homemade Elderberry Wine Laced With Arsenic, Strychnine, And “Just A Pinch” Of Cyanide

A review of Arsenic and Old Lace at the Theater in the Round

BY VISHALLI ALAGAPPAN

A window seat decorated one edge of the stage while a rich mahogany dining table set for dinner sat established the other boundary. The stage was set up as a parlor with a blush pink sofa set and coffee table and various other knick knacks like a rotary dial telephone and a credenza with a crystal wine carafe.

This was the penultimate show of Arsenic and Old Lace written by Joseph Kesserling at the Theater in the Round. This black comedy features the Brewster family and their penchant for murder: Martha and Abby Brewster, well-meaning philanthropists and Mortimer Brewster, a theater critic and nephew to the Brester sisters, discovers his sweet old aunts’ proclivity for poisoning old lonely men, in the name of charity. The play follows the missteps of Mortimer and other characters like his long lost brother Jonathan as they try to keep the murderous nature of the sisters a secret from the police.

I adored the layered humor in the play. The multiple tongue in cheek jokes about the unruly and inappropriate business of the theater tested splendidly with the audience. Yet another, Jonathan Brewster is described as a Boris Karloff type, a self-referential joke since Karloff played the part of Jonathan in the original Broadway play.

Although I can go on applauding the screenwriting, I must say that the actors truly breathed life into these deranged characters. Mortimer and his exaggerated exasperations and anxieties about devolving into madness like the rest of his family were truly exhilarating. I adored Abby’s hand gestures, saccharine voice, and comedic timing.

The harmony of the set design, screenwriting, and acting worked wonderfully on the arena stage that allowed for a more intimate viewing and an absolutely enthralling night. Although Arsenic and Old Lace showed for the last time this season on October 1st, the Theater in the Round has various exciting new plays lined up for the 2023-24 season. I’ll be sure to keep coming back this season and I hope to see a few of The Wake magazine’s readers in the audience as well!