Arsenic and Old Lace is kind of an old chestnut, but J. R. Sullivan's farcically savvy direction and the cast's inspired comic performances fill it with exuberant fun. Mortimer (Brian Vaughn) seems the only normal note in a zany family. One of his brothers thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt (Kieran Connolly), and the other is a criminal whose latest face-lift makes him resemble Boris Karloff (David Ivers). His maiden aunts, Abby (Laurie Birmingham) and Martha (Leslie Brott), have developed a unique way of practicing Christian charity.
Vaughn can transform walking across a room and peering into a window seat into a comic routine, and Birmingham and Brott bounce around Thomas Umfrid's Gothic Victorian set like a couple of Energizer bunnies. Connolly's outrageously over-the-top Teddy contrasts smartly with Ivers' sinister and smoldering Jonathan. Linda Essig's low-key lighting intensifies the mayhem. Mary Dolson, Mark Brown, and a slew of Brooklyn policemen offer able comic support.
Opened:
June 30, 2001
Ended:
August 31, 2001
Country:
USA
State:
Utah
City:
Cedar City
Company/Producers:
Utah Shakespearean Festival
Theater Type:
Regional
Theater:
Utah Shakespearean Festival - Randall L. Jones Theater
Theater Address:
Southern Utah State University, Cedar City
Phone:
(800) PLAYTIX
Running Time:
2 hrs, 30 min
Genre:
Farce
Director:
J.R. Sullivan
Review:
Cast:
Brian Vaughn (Mortimer), Laurie Birmingham (Abby), Leslie Brott (Martha), Kieran Connolly (Teddy), David Ivers (Jonathan), Mark Brown (Dr. Einstein), Mary Dolson (Elaine)
Technical:
Set: Thomas Umfrid; Costumes: Bill Black; Lighting: Linda Essig; Sound: Andrew Hopson; Musical Director: Darin Wadley
Critic:
Barbara Bannon
Date Reviewed:
August 2001
