Croswell Opera House stages 'Arsenic and Old Lace'
10/20/2005A play about two serial killers wouldn't seem to have too many laughs in it, but Joseph Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace has been delighting audiences more than six decades, debuting in 1941.
The Croswell Opera House plans to continue that when it opens its production tomorrow night in Adrian.
The story concerns sisters Abby and Martha Brewster, who take in boarders in a New York brownstone in the 1940s. They prefer lonely old men, whom they then serve a bit of arsenic-tainted elderberry wine. The gentlemen look so happy when they're gone, the sisters reason.
It takes their nephew, Mortimer, to figure out how to stop the mayhem, but not before it gets worse, much worse.
Directed by G.L. Blanchard of Jackson, Mich., Arsenic and Old Lace stars Lynn Marsh of Brooklyn, Mich., and T.S. Sanger of Adrian as Abby and Martha, Rick Vaught of Adrian as Teddy, and Ryan Burke of Brooklyn as Mortimer.
"Arsenic and Old Lace" is scheduled at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 30 in the Croswell Opera House, 129 East Maumee St., Adrian. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and students. Information: 517-264-7469.
● Bowling Green State University's College of Musical Arts and Department of Theatre and Film jointly present Stages of Love, an evening of one-act plays and Broadway songs and dances, in Bryan Recital Hall at the Moore Musical Arts Center. The Newcomer's Showcase production includes The Red Coat by John Patrick Shanley, who won the Tony Award earlier this year for his play Doubt; Mary Miller's Ferris Wheel, Dorothy Parker's Here We Are, James Thurber's A Couple of Hamburgers, and David Ives' Sure Thing. Performances are at 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $5 for students, $8 for the general public. Information: 419-372-2719 or 800-589-2224.
● Lost in Yonkers, Neil Simon's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play about family, opens tonight in the Fort Findlay Playhouse, Sandusky and West streets, Findlay. The story concerns two teenage boys who must spend the summer of 1942 with their ill-tempered grandmother, who runs a candy store in Yonkers. Directed by Marty Williams, the production is scheduled at 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 5 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 30. Tickets are $12. Information: 419-422-4624.
● The National Players will present Dracula, based on Bram Stoker's classic horror novel, at 10 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in the Franciscan Theatre & Conference Center of Lourdes College, 6842 Convent Blvd., Sylvania. Part of the center's 21st Theater Vision season of performances for students, the tale has been adapted for junior and senior high school ages. Although the series is aimed at schools, the public is welcome to attend if space is available. Tickets are $9.50. Information: 419-824-3986.
● Ohio Northern University in Ada presents Arthur Miller's All My Sons at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Oct. 28, 2 and 8 p.m. Oct. 29, and 2 p.m. Oct. 30 in Stambaugh Studio Theatre of the Freed Center for the Performing Arts. The dramaconcerns the intertwined fortunes of the Keller and Deever families during and after World War II. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for seniors and students. Information: 419-772-1900.
Contact Nanciann Cherry at: ncherry@theblade.com
or 419-724-6130.