Arsenic and Old Lace

Arsenic and Old Lace is a classic stage comedy, by Joseph Kesselring, which concerns the sweet old Brewster sisters, beloved in their genteel Brooklyn neighborhood for their many charitable acts. One charity which the ladies don't advertise is their ongoing effort to permit lonely bachelors to die with smiles on their faces--by serving said bachelors elderberry wine spiked with arsenic!

When the sisters' drama-critic nephew Mortimer stumbles onto their secret, he is understandably put out--especially since he has just married the lovely Elaine Harper. Given the homicidal tendencies of his aunts, the sinister activities of his escaped-convict older brother Jonathan and the disruptive behavior of younger brother Teddy--who is convinced that he's really Theodore Roosevelt, and runs around the house yelling "CHAAAAARGGGE"--Mortimer isn't keen on starting a family with his new bride. "Insanity runs in my family," he explains. "It practically gallops." Further complications ensue when the murderous Jonathan Brewster arrives home, with his snivelling accomplice Dr. Einstein in tow.

When Jonathan learns that his darling aunts have killed twelve men, he is incensed--they're challenging his own record of murders. With so many eccentric characters scurrying about, Arsenic requires a voice-of-reason central character to balance the insanity. Unfortunately, Mortimer mugs and capers so much that he seems at times to be as off-balance as the rest of his brood. This shortcoming aside, Arsenic and Old Lace still delivers the laughs after five decades, and has deservedly retained its long popularity. --Hal Erickson