Much was made by me over Theatre in the Round Players perfect season last year, and well it should. In one season they went from a generally reliable if uneven community theatre, to one of the best bets in the Twin Cities Theater scene. Theater lovers should take note that they are also one of the most affordable. A perfect season is a hard act to follow, but with their first show of the 2023 – 24 season, Arsenic & Old Lace, is off to a strong start. Many will have seen productions of this show previously, it’s a staple of community theaters, colleges, and high schools. In what feels like a trend lately, I had never seen a stage production before, though I’ve seen the 1944 Frank Capra film at least a dozen times. It was a favorite of mine growing up and a love for it that I passed onto my son George who attended the opening night performance with me. We noted a few of the minor changes that were made when the play was adapted to film but were pleased with how similar the two are. At its heart this is a dark comedy that is so entertaining and funny that one completely loses sight that it’s essentially a play about serial killers.
Written in 1939 by Joseph Kesselring, Arsenic and Old Lace ran on Broadway in January 1941 and ran until June 1944. It’s the story of the Brewster Family, the elderly Aunts Abby and Martha whose kind heartedness and desire to do good deeds extends to relieving elder familyless men of their lonesome existences. They advertise rooms for rent and then establishing through the interview that the men who apply are old and alone and in their mind have nothing to live for, they dispatch them with a glass of homemade elderberry wine laced with Arsenic, Strychnine, and just a pinch of Cyanide. Their nephew Teddy, who believes himself to be Teddy Roosevelt, is told they are victims of yellow fever and he is charged with burying them in the locks he has dug in the basement for the Panama Canal. Mortimer Brewster their other nephew stops by with his new Fiance, Elaine, to tell the aunts the good news and stumbles upon what he at first assumes is the result of his brother Teddy graduating from harmless to homicidal. Mortimer decides the best course of action is to get Teddy committed ASAP in order to keep his aunts out of trouble. While he is out trying to make all the arrangements, a third brother Jonathan a ruthless and cruel killer and his accomplice Dr. Einstein strong arms his way into his childhood home and he has a body of his own to dispose of. Dr. Einstein is a plastic surgeon and has given Jonathan new faces once the police are onto him. His recent surgery made him look like Boris Karloff, this was an inside joke during the original Broadway run where the role of Jonathan was played by Boris Karloff. When Mortimer returns he tries to throw Jonathan out, but with every revelation of bodies and murderers the upper hand keeps shifting between the brothers. Things get complicated when the police get involved due to Teddy blowing his buggle in order to call for a cabinet meeting.
Cary Grant who starred in the film as Mortimer is a hard act to follow and it took Ron Ravensborg all of five minutes to make the role his own. He wisely doesn’t try and emulate Grants performance, but plays the character as written and finds his own voice for the role. The standouts performance wise are all of the actors portraying the Brewsters. Kristen C. Mathisen and Naomi Karstad play the sweet misguided aunts Abby and Martha. They have the sweetness down so perfectly that the audience really does, at least momentarily, forgive them for killing 12 men. Jared Reise plays Teddy perfectly with one caveat, I would have liked to see him really go for it everytime Teddy ascends the staircase, which to him is San Juan Hill. Lastly, in terms of Brewsters is Luke Langfeldt as Jonathan, whoever did his makeup did a fantastic job, you can see the resemblance to Karloff is achieved. I also want to mention Lucas Gerstner who plays Dr. Einstein, he actually elicits a sympathetic response from the audience as we root for him to wiggle his way out of the clutches of the police and Jonathan.
Director George M. Roesler doesn’t attempt to reenvision this classic play, he knows his audience and embraces the farcical nature of the play and succeeds with its main objective which is to entertain. Set Designer Lee Christian has once again gone above what we used to expect from Theatre in the Round Players. Creating multiple levels on the main floor and using one of the sections towards the top of the audience seating for the upper floor of the house. There is also a wonderful window seat perfect for stashing bodies in or to sit on and look out into the cemetery that lays outside the window. This design gives Roesler the opportunity to stage the action without compromising some of the classic moments, like Teddy’s charges up the stairs and Jonathan telling the Aunts who are up at the top of the stairs to go back to bed. Rebecca Karstad does a nice job with the costumes, they have a period feel and it was a nice touch dressing Langfeldt in a subtle homage to Karloff’s costume from the first two Frankenstein films.
I had a great time with Arsenic & Old Lace, I was prepared to do some debate with myself to squash any criticisms that came up from comparing it to the film, which would not have been fair. But the production didn’t need me to argue for it, it presents itself as a funny, engaging and very entertaining night at the theater. If you are a fan of the film, I think you’ll enjoy this take on it. If you are not familiar with it, I envy you a chance to see this play without any preconceived ideas. I can never see it without knowing what’s coming, but if you have someone like that in your life that wouldn’t know anything going in that’s the person to take to this wonderful production. The show runs through Oct 1st. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreintheround.org/home/season-placeholder/72nd-season/arsenic/
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