Graham Rowat, Mia Dillon, and Harriet Harris. in Berkshire Theatre Group’s Arsenic and Old Lace. Photo by .Emma Rothenberg-Ware
by Mark G. Auerbach
When Berkshire Theatre Group announced that Arsenic and Old Lace, was on the season roster I was excited, because I’d never seen this comedy classic on stage, and because one of the story’s main characters is a theatre critic. So, how awesome is that to see your profession dramatized in an American comedy that was one of the biggest hits of the early 1940s.
Arsenic and Old Lace opened in January, 1941, and ran for over 1,333 performances on Broadway, a record for its time. Jean Adair, Josephine Hull, and Boris Karloff were in its original cast, and when Frank Capra turned the play into his 1944 movie hit for Cary Grant, they repeated their roles. Arsenic and Old Lace has been given TV adaptations, first in 1955 with Helen Hayes and Billie Burke–Judy Garland’s Glinda. Hayes and Lillian Gish starred in a 1969 TV version.
Harriet Harris and Mia Dillon in Berkshire Theatre Group’s Arsenic and Old Lace. Photo by .Emma Rothenberg-Ware
But wait! Arsenic and Old Lace is inspired by a serial killer who lived just down the road in Windsor, CT–the infamous Amy Duggan Archer Galligan, who poisoned at least five elderly gentlemen including her second husband–and possibly up to 58 more–in her Prospect Street Archer Home for The Elderly and Infirm. The Hartford Courant spilled the beans on Sister, as she was called, in 1916. She was tried, convicted, sentenced to death, retried, found insane, and sent to the asylum in Middletown, CT, where she died in 1962.
In Arsenic and Old Lace, the drama critic, Mortimer Brewster, engaged to the girl next door, goes to the family house to share the good news with his eccentric aunts, Martha and Abby, who house an equally eccentric family including Mortimer’s brother Teddy, who fancies himself to be Teddy Roosevelt. Martha and Abby have dispatched a dozen lonely old men to the cellar, where Teddy buries them in the locks of the Panama Canal he’s building. Bad brother Jonathan Brewster returns home, and the Brewster household is thrown into disarray.
Kesselring’s script is a gem with great plot development and twists and turns, good characters, and some rich lines, but like other plays of yore, it takes its time developing the twists and turns. So, if you’re expecting the crime solved and perps rounded up in less than sixty minutes, be warned, it’s a long journey with two intermissions to get to an ending that is predictable, yet full of surprises.
Graham Rowat and Timothy Gulan in Berkshire Theatre Group’s Arsenic and Old Lace. Photo by .Emma Rothenberg-Ware
Gregg Edelman’s staging is great, and Randall Parson’s set is absolutely perfect–the best stage design for a non-musical I’ve seen this year. I loved Hunter Kaczorowski’s costumes, particularly those for the elder sisters Martha and Abby, which are well complimented by J. Jared Janas’ wig designs. Alan Edwards’ lighting designs bring out the best of the intricate sets and costumes, and this production is one of the most handsome ones to be seen on the Fitzpatrick Main Stage.
The company all offer superb performances, individually and as an ensemble, especially negotiating some of the tricky timing director Edelman has put in place. Veteran actresses an comediennes Harriet Harris and Mia Dillon are delightful as the murderous Brewster sisters. Gerry McIntyre is fun as a police officer with aspurations to be a playwright, and Matt Sullivan and Tom Story are fun as the Boris Karloff-like Brewster son and his German doctor. I think my fellow theatre critics would highly approve of Graham Rowat’s portrayal of theatre critic Mortimer Brewster. Rowat has appeared in BTG productions of A Little Night Music, Bells Are Ringing, and Constellations. He’s a fine example of versatile performance skills and a commanding stage presence.
Berkshire Theatre Group has given area audiences a rich menu of plays and musicals this summer. I always feel so at home here. Arsenic and Old Lace runs through August 19.
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The Berkshire Theatre Group presents Arsennic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring. Directed by Gregg Edelman. Scenic design by Randall Parsons. Costume design by Hunter Kaczorowski. Lighting design by Alan Edwards. Sound design by Scott Killian. Cast: Katie Birenboim as Elaine Harper; Ryan Chittaphong as Officer Klein; Mia Dillon as Martha Brewster; Timothy Gulan as Teddy; Harriet Harris as Abby Brewster; Walter Hudson as Mr. Witherspoon and Mr. Gibbs; Gerry McIntyre as Officer O’Hara; Graham Rowat as Mortimer Brewster; Tom Story as Dr. Einstein; Matt Sullivan as Jonathan Brewster; Walton Wilson as The Rev. Dr. Harper and Lieutenant Rooney.. Through August 19. The Berkshire Theatre Group’s Fitzpatrick Main Stage., Stockbridge, MA. For tickets: 413-997-4444 or www.berkshiretheatregroup.org.
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio. Mark produces and hosts ArtsBeat Radio on 89.5fm/WSKB Radio.
