The JHU Barnstormer’s second full-length production of the year — Joseph Kesselring’s black comedy, Arsenic and Old Lace — took place last weekend.
Written just before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, this wry play puts a humorous spin on the classically grim theme of murder and mayhem, and Director Jim Knipple’s production makes the laughs happen.
Insanity is touted as the new fad in this play of misfits and murderers, as we watch the seemingly normal Brewster household deteriorate into a den of thieves.
The comedy revolves around the Brewster sisters, a pair of endearing spinsters, and their nephew Mortimer (sophomore Jeremy Dolinko), a theater critic, who lives with them. Mortimer proposes to the cheery but insistent Elaine Harper (senior Yagmur Muftuoglu), but the celebration is delayed when Mortimer stumbles upon the corpse of an elderly man stuffed in the window seat of his aunts’ apartment.
The sweet Brewster sisters — Abby (senior Rebecca McGivney) and Martha (freshman Victoria Shroeter) — are accomplices — and experts — in poisoning lonely old men with their homemade elderberry wine concoction.
Meanwhile, Mortimer’s younger brother, “Teddy” (sophomore Kelsey Bramson), who is convinced that he is Teddy Roosevelt, has been persuaded by the Brewster sisters to dig six-by-four-foot holes in the cellar for the Panama Canal, and conveniently, for their deceased victims.
The situation becomes even more preposterous when Mortimer’s estranged brother, Jonathan (sophomore Frank Dawedeit), returns home after traveling abroad.
He arrives with a new face that resembles the mug of the horror film actor Boris Karloff aka good old Frankenstein — the result of several botched plastic surgeries — and the constantly inebriated “doctor” who performed it.
The disheveled Dr. Einstein (senior Pierce Delahunt) tags along helplessly as the domineering Jonathan—with his burly six-foot-five frame—literally manhandles his way back into his childhood home.
Mortimer, who is at this point has accepted the lunacy, is then forced to juggle his persistent fiancé, deluded and tyrannical brothers, and the Brooklyn Police Department to save his aunts from jail while somehow maintaining his own sanity.
This farcical twist on the who-dunnit script is brought to life by the strong performances of a relatively younger cast.
Moments of irony and comedy are highlighted by McGivney and Schroeter’s synchronous pairing, as the duo excitedly and proudly reflect on their homicidal conquests like two schoolgirls; in their nostalgic recount of their victims, the two women even finish each other’s sentences.
Throughout, McGivney and Schroeter feed off one another’s reactions — when one suppresses (if half-heartedly) her vexation with Jonathan, the other follows suit, making for a cohesive and entertaining coupling.
The other double team of note is Delahunt, as Dr. Einstein, and Dawedeit as the long-lost brother. Rather than mimicking the other’s mood, however, this duo draws their energy and wit from their hilarious master-slave relationship.
Delahunt, who maintains a thick but comprehensible Eastern European accent throughout, plays the part of antsy and unwilling sidekick well, emphasizing all his character’s nervous ticks—and addictions—and Dawedeit is an imposing stage presence.
Put the two together and the set becomes a bustling romping ground, where the characters dive in and out in humorous attempts to evade one another.
The most consistent performance, however, goes to Dolinko as Mortimer. While the second half of the two-and-a-half hour play seemed to see a slump in energy, Dolinko kept up his semblance of frustration and angst; indeed, one would have expected his voice to tire out from all that shouting, but Dolinko went at full steam.
His irritation makes us laugh, but at the same time, we can still sympathize with his plight—just when his situation apparently cannot get any more absurd, Kesselring throws us yet another unexpected but hilarious turn.
Though Arsenic and Old Lace has been described as a dark comedy, there’s really nothing “dark” about the Barnstormers’ production.
Whether it’s the slapstick comedy of pulling the old switcheroo of dead bodies or the ironical, dry humor of the Brewster sisters, the funny parts are undeniably funny.
Almost every scene is punctuated with laughter, though at times, the lowbrow, antic nature of the play’s humor is just too much.
It’s funny when Teddy plays up his presidential alter ego—for instance, when he scrambles up the stairs to battle shouting “Chaaarge!”—but after the fifth time, the charade loses its effect.
The Barnstormers’ performance gives this playful dark comedy a dimension of wit and charm, and is not to be missed.
Arsenic and Old Lace runs though Sunday, Nov. 7. Admission is $5 for students.
