Articles

Emporium for the Arts presents

"ARSENIC AND OLD LACE"

Written by Joseph Kesslring and directed by Lynn Lewis

"Insanity runs in my family, " Mortimer Brewster tells his fiancée. " It practically gallops."

There is ample evidence of this throughout "Arsenic and Old Lace," a dark comedy in which theater critic, Mortimer (played by Jathan Borel) discovers that his brother Teddy's (Chase Owen) conviction that he is Theodore Roosevelt is just the tip of a very peculiar iceberg. Turns out that his sweet old aunts, Abby (Judith Haney) and Martha (Cathy Bennett), have been dispatching elderly gentlemen with a blend of elderberry wine, arsenic, strychnine and cyanide. And that his long-gone brother Jonathan (played with just the right violent energy by Lawrence Hicks), an excaped convict has undergone a series of surgical procedures that have left him with the distinctive visage of Boris Karloff (not to mention a disposition as scary as some of the characters Karloff played in horro movies). Directed by Lynn Lewis, this play is a mixture of comedy and mayhem. Haney and Bennett bring just the right daffy energy to the sisters, two otherwise lovely gals who seel absolutely no problem with helping old men meet their maker a tad prematurely. In addition, Carina Haygood gives a feisty performance as Mortimer's fiancée, Elaine. Also appearing are: Duncan Parish, Woodie Cone, Tsagoi Jennings,Joe Broussard, Don Tavel, Tristan Evans, and Joe Dan Richardson,

The production will run the first two weekends in May. Tickets and information are available at the Art Gallery located at 210 W. Bluff, Woodville (409-283-3832) The Emporium Stage is located next door to the Gallery in the Woodville Art District.