Review: ARSENIC AND OLD LACE at The Barnstormers

There’s everything to love in the current production of Arsenic and Old Lace playing at The Barnstormers Theater in Tamworth.

Joseph Kesselring's play Arsenic and Old Lace is a comedy classic kept alive for American culture by Frank Capra's 1944 film with Cary Grant and by numerous theater troupes that have retold the antics of the unusual Brewster family in 1941 Brooklyn.

Theatre critic Mortimer Brewster (Jordan Ahnquist), who hates most theater, has been raised by his maiden aunts Abby (Jean Mar Brown) and Martha (Vinette Cotter), a duo as wholesome as anyone’s elder matriarchs. (I bet they knit scarves as Christmas gifts for the family!) His normal world comes crashing in as he discovers that his sweet aunts have been cheerfully poisoning lonely old men and encouraging his brother, Teddy (Dale Place), to bury them in the cellar as victims of yellow fever in what he calls the “Panama Canal.” This works fine as Teddy inexplicably believes he is President Theodore Roosevelt charging his way up the living room stairs with a war cry and blaring his horn at inopportune moments to stir troops to battle.

The absurdity mounts as the play reveals the arrival of a long-lost brother, Jonathan, (David Sitler) a prison escapee and his incompetent plastic surgeon sidekick, Dr. Einstein (Andrew Sellon) who has a Peter Lorre-esqe air about him. This duo, too, has a history of bringing an early demise to many a wayward fellow.

The comedy thrives when Mortimer, the only rational person in the family, tries to comprehend the antics of finding corpses in the living room window seat, visits from neighborhood cops on the verge of discovering the crimes and a delusional brother set on making him the victim in a murder mystery.

At the core of the production are Brown and Cotter, who ooze sweet innocence while serving tainted elderberry wine to unsuspecting guests. Brown is a bit more agitated of the two posing quick paced one liners while Cotter is more the voice of reason always ready to serve the needs of their next victim. They are, quite simply, the most loveable murderers to grace a theater stage and the twosome seem to enjoy every minute in their roles.

Anhquist is a perfectly aligned Mortimer with over-the-top reactions to the impossibilities playing out before his eyes. He has just the right dose of frantic reactions mixed in with his attempts to solve every dilemma. Anhquist is a Barnstormers favorite.

Sitler is the perfectly menacing brother especially with his true to life likeness to Boris Karloff, the butt of a joke that his change of face surgery went horribly wrong. Sidekick, Sellon, is a fun-loving sot—nervous and impish always making his supporting role shine. The best moment of the show is when he is ready to turn himself to the authorities for his crimes only to be congratulated and set free by the bumbling Lt. Rooney (Bob Bates).  He and Sitler put an amusing evil streak to the show.

Officers Brophy (Jorge Barranco) and Klein (Dustin Teuber), the NYPD flatfoots who like to look in from time to time on the Brewster sisters are the perfect combination of the city’s finest men in blue. Jorge Barranco as Officer Brophy, a full-time cop and aspiring playwright with an Irish lilt has a great bit where he plays out a fast forward rendition of his mystery play script to an uninterested captivated audience.

The cast is rounded out with some fun bits by C. Mingo Long as the local Reverend and Craig Capone as the director of the nearby asylum where Mortimer wants to have the crazy members of his family committed. (A long-kept secret is revealed at the end of the show that might have him dropped from the family tree!)

Mortimer’s girlfriend, Elaine (Amahri Edwards-Jones) seems a bit uncomfortable in a role that could be played bigger, bolder and with more energy. Take a few chances and have more fun with the role.

The Barnstormers’ have created a beautifully detailed box set for this production, designed by Emily Nichols with aid from others in the tech team, Lily Bitner, prop designer, Kevin Dunn on the lights, Patty Hatch Hibbert with the costumes, and Kimberly O’Loughlin as the sound designer. And speaking of sound, the actors could stand to project a bit more, especially in the longer, slower paced first act. Things livened up in the second act with a more vibrant pace and voices being much louder and clearer. Otherwise, director, Clayton Phillips does a fine job keeping the action, particularly the sight gags, moving along. 

For a play that is almost 85 years old, Arsenic and Old Lace continues to be an audience favorite. And a new favorite version can be seen at The Barnstormers Theater in Tamworth, New Hampshire through July 22.