Drama students to perform ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’

DOWNEY – Downey High School’s Drama Production class will present the darkly hilarious, screwball comedy “Arsenic and Old Lace” by Joseph Kesselring, in the DHS theater (located in the D. Mark Morris Hall on campus), opening May 15. The play revolves around the sweet, charming, little old ladies known as the Brewster sisters. They run a boarding house for lonely old men and look after their nephew, Teddy, who actually thinks he is President Theodore Roosevelt.

Things get even more quaint and charming when their other nephew, Mortimer, comes to visit and announces he’s getting married to a sweet minister’s daughter, Elaine.

Everything is going wonderfully until Mortimer unwittingly discovers the Brewster sisters’ secret hobby: they’ve been poisoning the old men who visit their boarding house and burying them in the cellar. The sisters believe that they are performing the nicest of final charities for these lonely old men, but obviously Mortimer feels different about this.

Throw in an unexpected visit from Mortimer’s psychopathic brother Jonathan and his German sidekick Dr. Herman Einstein and you’ve got a maniacal comedy of misplaced bodies, misunderstandings, and mayhem.

Showtimes: Friday, May 15, 7 pm; Saturday, May 16, 7 pm;,Wednesday, May 20, 4 p.m.; Thursday, May 21, 4 pm; and Friday, May 22, 7 pm.

This play has been an enduring comedy classic on Broadway ever since its 1941 premiere, and even more people have seen the popular 1944 film version starring Cary Grant.

The show is family-friendly and runs approximately two hours and 10 minutes.

Tickets are $8 for the general public and $6 pre-sales are available at the Downey High ASB window on campus.

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Published: April 23, 2015 - Volume 14 - Issue 02