Arsenic and Old Lace is the gruesome yet hilarious tale of the elderly

and charmingly sinister Brewster sisters and their equally compelling

nephews; Mortimer, Teddy and Jonathan. Set in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1941, these

two ladies poison their unknowing victims with homemade elderberry wine

then employ the help of their delusional nephew, Teddy, to get rid of the

bodies. When Mortimer, an upstanding theater critic and the only “sane”

member of the family discovers his aunts’ grisly secret, his plan to marry

Elaine, a preacher’s daughter, quickly begins to unravel. But it isn’t until the

long-lost black sheep of the family Jonathan, a dead-ringer for horror movie

star Boris Karloff, shows up with Dr. Einstein, a quack cosmetic surgeon to

the seedy inhabitants of New York’s underbelly, that all heck breaks loose!

by Joseph Kesselring directed by Scott Schwartz starring Betty Buckley and Tovah Feldshuh

scenic model by

Anna Louizos

KALiTA HumpHreyS THeATer FeB 4-mArCH 13

was born in New York City on July 21, 1902 to German immigrants

Henry and Frances Kesselring. Kesselring spent much of his life in

and around the theater. He taught music and voice and directed

stage productions at Bethel College in North Newton Kansas.

In 1933 he began working as a freelance playwright completing 12 original plays, of

which four were produced on Broadway: Wisdom in Women (1935), Arsenic and Old

Lace (1941), Four Twelves are 48 (1951), and Mother of that Wisdom (1963). Kesselring

died in Kingston, New York in 1967 at the age of 65. Arsenic and Old Lace was his most

successful play.

Kesselring originally conceived the play as a heavy drama, but a friend, reading the half-finished play, convinced him it would be much more effective as a comedy.

The "murderous old lady" plot line may also have been inspired by actual events that occurred in a house in Windsor Connecticut where a woman, Amy Archer-Gilligan, took in boarders and allegedly poisoned them for their pensions. in 1907 Archer and her then husband, James Archer, opened The Archer Home for Aged people. 60 murders (including those of her two husbands) occurred between 1907 and 1916 when police finally caught up with her. Local merchants testified that Archer-Gilligan had purchased large quantities of arsenic. “To kill rats”, she said. On July 1, 1919 she was found guilty of murder in the second degree by reason of insanity and was sentenced to life in prison. in 1924 she was declared “hopelessly insane” and was transferred to a mental institution where she stayed until her death in 1962 at the age of 89.

Arsenic and Old Lace played at the Hudson Theater from September 25, 1943 thru June 17, 1944 for a total of 1,444 performances!

When Joseph Kesselring taught at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas he lived in a boarding house called the Goerz House which served as the inspiration for the Brewster’s home in the play. The Goerz House is now the home of the president of Bethel College.

The original production which opened on January 10, 1941, to rave reviews, featured Boris Karloff in the role of Jonathan Brewster who

is supposed to look just like Boris Karloff. Karloff, an english-born actor, was famous for his roles in horror films, specifically his portrayal

of Frankenstein's monster.

in Arsenic and Old Lace the character Teddy believes himself to be Theodore 'Teddy' roosevelt, the 26th president of the united States. president

roosevelt was famous for his energetic personality, leadership of the progressive movement, and a wide range of

achievements as an explorer, naturalist, hunter, author and solider. in 1903, president roosevelt and the united States government endeavored to build a ship canal in Central America that would connect the Atlantic and pacific Oceans. The working conditions were difficult and the tropical climate caused wide-spread disease. The u.S. lost 5,600 lives to malaria, yellow fever and landslides while building the panama Canal. in the play, the Brewster sisters take advantage of their nephew’s presidential past, convincing Teddy that the cellar is, in fact, the Canal and the bodies that keep turning up in their home are victims of yellow fever.

President Theodore Roosevelt riding a moose.

Boris Karloff

Amy Archer-Gilligan

Boris Karloff as

Frankenstein's monster

INSANE in the

MeMbrane“Look i probabLy shouLd have toLd you this before but you see... weLL... insanity runs in My faMiLy... it practicaLLy gaLLops.”

– mortimer Brewster

But what iS insanity? Truth is, there’s no clear borderline

between sanity and insanity. Definitions might depend on

cultural and social surroundings. Oftentimes, the term is only

meaningful in the courtroom, as in “i poisoned the neighbor’s

dog by reason of insanity”. in Arsenic and Old Lace, we see a few

examples of how we might define ‘insanity’. There’s Teddy, who

thinks he’s president Theodore roosevelt and runs around the

house yelling “Charge!”, but who we suspect is perfectly aware

of his delusion. There’s Jonathan, the long-lost brother who

will murder you for saying the wrong thing—and will probably

enjoy it. Aunt Abigail and Aunt martha, the two old maids who

are hiding a grisly secret behind their kindness and because of it,

might be the most dangerous of all. And finally, there’s mortimer,

who begins to doubt his own sanity simply because he’s related

to the rest of them. So the real question seems to be what makes

a person insane? The knowledge that they are doing something

crazy or the belief that the crazy thing they are doing is perfectly

normal? How can we tell if someone’s insane; by their actions,

their appearance or their family?

What do you think?

A SAMPLE OF THE RORScHAcH inkbLOT TEST The Rorschach inkblot test (or simply the "inkblot test") is a psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed. Some psychologists use this test to examine a person's personality characteristics and emotional functioning, and in some cases to detect an underlying thought disorder.

When Scott Schwartz, the director of DTC's Arsenic and Old Lace, began working on this project he and scenic designer Anna Louizos found inspiration in the art of edward Gorey (1925–2000), an American writer and artist noted for his macabre illustrated books. Gorey's illustrated (and sometimes wordless) books, with their vaguely ominous air and ostensibly Victorian and edwardian settings, have long had a cult following. Gorey became particularly well-known through his animated introduction to the pBS series Mystery! in 1980, as well as his designs for the 1977 Broadway production of Dracula, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Costume Design. (He was also nominated for Best Scenic Design.)

Edward Goreythe art of

What do you see?

the Clothes

11 The number of

times William Ivey Long,

costume designer for

Arsenic & Old Lace, has

been nominated for a

Tony Award.

5 The number of

Tony Awards Mr. Long

has received for Best

Costume Design.

59 The number of

Broadway shows Mr.

Long has designed

costumes for.

2005 The year

William Ivey Long

was inducted into the

Theater Hall of Fame.

the Set

770 square feet of

vacuform, a plastic

mold, used to decorate

the Brewster home with

4,224 fake bricks.

480 square feet

of VacuForm used to

create shingles.

3 base colors used

with 15 different

tints to create the 32

colors that are painted,

glazed and applied to

the set.

the Bodies

2 cadavers built by the

DTC Props Department.

25 feet of aluminum

used to create arms

and legs.

4 feet of 14-inch

Sonotube® used to

create 2 sets of ribs

and pelvises.

2 heads and 4 hands

were purchased from a

special effects shop in

California.

the BOOm

2000 pounds per

square inch of pressure

in the nitrogen tank for

the onstage explosion.

20+ explosion tests

to properly safe check

all materials used in

the onstage explosion.

5 staff members

from 3 production

departments

collaborated in the

creation of this special

effect.

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Dallas Theater Center would like to recognize the generosity of our major corporate partners.

Pier 1 ImportsSouthwest Securities

t. howard + associatesTarget

By the Numbers

Associate Producing Partner CHArLeS SCHWAB

Assistant Producing Partner Gardere Wynne Sewell, L.L.p.