arsenic and old lace - dallastheatercenter.org · stage productions at bethel college in north...
TRANSCRIPT
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.