Satirical 'Arsenic' opens Friday

Many stories treat the somewhat serious topic of murder in a comedic way.

The Acting Company's latest production, "Arsenic and Old Lace," opening Friday, is one such story.

"This is a dark comedy set in Brooklyn in 1941 ... that takes very grim elements and turns it into something funny," said the play's director, Chris Collier. "It's a really fun show ... very off-beat, (very) interesting and oddly funny."

"Arsenic and Old Lace" is about two spinster old ladies, Abby Brewster (played by Leslee Myers) and Martha Brewster (Elizabeth Holcomb), who run a boarding house. The two ladies have taken to poisoning lonely old men with a wine laced with arsenic, strychnine and cyanide.

"They have a laissez faire attitude to the mayhem and the darkness in their home," Collier said. "(The play) has a lot of irony and satire, and a little bit of satire about theater itself."

That satire comes from Mortimer Brewster (Anthony Dost), the nephew of the two spinsters. A drama critic, Mortimer is set to see a play, and his comments on the play comment on the mechanics of theater — and "Arsenic and Old Lace" — itself.

"Arsenic" also contains quite a few strange characters, including Mortimer's brother, Teddy (Jeff Graham), who believes himself to be Theodore Roosevelt and digs locks for the Panama Canal (which is really the Brewster's basement), which serve as graves for the poisoned victims.

The other Brewster family member in the play is Jonathan (Shawn Measles), a murderer who has had plastic surgery to conceal his identity and now resembles Boris Karloff. In the original production of "Arsenic," this was an inside joke as Karloff himself played the role.

The cast also includes G. Graham Abernathy as Dr. Einstein; Dan Salamone as Rev. Harper; Shannon Doscher as Elaine Harper; Kevin Heller as Officer O'Hara; Jason Kaoerlik as Lt. Rooney; Harold Witson Jr. as Officer Brophy; Mario Johnson as Officer Klein; and John Trent as both Mr. Witherspoon and Mr. Gibbs.

"It's (going to be) fun for theatergoers and fun for the actors," Collier said. "It's one that most people will know from the Frank Capra movie adaptation ... and they should enjoy our play as well."