Review: ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ Keeps ‘Em Laughing

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Wickedly good over-the-top fun is one way to describe the Sandhills Theater Company’s most recent stage production — and may I say that is definitely with a capital “W.”

This is not the first local rodeo for “Arsenic” as cast members and director Jack Causier dusted off the scripts for this one, an old favorite of locals.

During the opening scenes, newspaper drama critic Mortimer Brewster (Scott Wathen) sighs as he talks with his aunts while waiting for his girlfriend Elaine Harper (Kerry Brennan) for a night at the theater. The two aunts, also known around the borough as the sweet Brewster sisters, Aunt Abby (Irene Martin) and Aunt Martha (Frances Raynor), merrily go about clearing dishes from tea as Mortimer throws the audience bait — keen one-liners meant to settle and mellow the audience.

One of the Brewster sisters’ charity acts is poisoning lonely old men seeking a room for rent with some of their home brew of elderberry wine laced with arsenic, strychnine and another poison. The sisters view their murders as a way to help end the caller’s lonely lives quickly and they bury them in the cellar with a proper Christian funeral.

There are several great one-liners in the play that make it a must-see. There’s the eccentric verbiage nephew Teddy (Jeffery Hufford) shoots off at 10 decibels — including his very presidential versions of “Chaarge” and “Bugger.” And Mortimer’s own verse of discontent, “ Insanity runs in my family. It practically gallops.”

When Mortimer stumbles on a dead gentleman’s body in the window seat, and believes Teddy is the responsible party, flair turns to desperation as Mortimer quickly plots an insanity plea for his brother. When the naive nephew reveals to the aunts the body he has found, with such a heavy heart, mind you, the aunts matter-of-factly spell out the intricacies of their murderous lifestyle to Mortimer and a stunned crowd. It’s a priceless moment.

I know a lot of folks may be able to recite this one by rote because of its prevalence in theater, but there are those among us who like a familiar plot and a happy ending when settled in a theater seat. I don’t mind slapstick every once and a while, either. The play was fresh and well-done at The Sunrise.

Thanks to the familiarity, I caught one of the best lines in the play by one of the best acted parts in the play — Abby Brewster. She says, “One of our gentlemen even found time to say ‘How Delicious.’” Isn’t that just horrible (and horribly funny)?

The lunacy of this play is enhanced by the supporting characters including the demented plastic surgeon “Doctor” Einstein (Don Hopkins), Mortimer’s insane, long-lost brother Jonathan (William Glover) and of course the New York cops namely Officer O’Hara (Charles Johnson), officers Brophy (Seth Buchanan) and Klein (Anthony Burwell) and their boss Lieutenant Rooney (Robert Place).

Dr. Einstein’s accent and “Yeah Johnny’s” really added a lot to the play. I hope theater-goers get to see more of Hopkins’ talent for the craft in the future.

Some give “Arsenic” a bad rap for its cheesy, very happy ending. The hardly hardknocks boyfriend and his preacher’s daughter girlfriend do live happily ever. It’s anti-climactic, yes, but the audience is sore from laughing anyway so l say let the actors have their fun — it’s a comedy not a documentary! There are no loose ends in the “Arsenic and Old Lace” ending.

The set and props were well-done in STC’s “Arsenic” with a minor exception. Some of the scenes meant to show what the Brewster home was like in complete darkness were indeed in complete darkness — a reality that was more distracting than helpful. A dim light may have offered a better venue. And the use of lit matches made me a little nervous even in the ninth row.

A warning to parents, this one is for the mostly mature: I’d leave the kiddies home on this one.

Kudos to the costumers for very unique funeral-going clothes and additional thumbs up for a tidy, durable set. It was quite a task, I’m sure, building steps for Teddy’s charge scenes and putting together the surreal corpse that was a laugh in itself.

And lastly an aside, President Bill Clinton once played an unknown part in this play in high school. Seeing “Arsenic” is an even bigger hoot if you imagine Clinton filling the shoes of any of the characters.