The Performer's Company Presents Arsenic and Old Lace in Sackville, New Brunswick

Arsenic and Old Lace, a black comedy written by Joseph Kesselring in 1939, was performed at Live Bait Theatre this past weekend (February 10-14, 2010). It was well done production by the cast and crew. Teddy Brewster and Dr. Einstein were especially well acted. Fellow Mount Allison Student Aja Cooper also gets a special mention for the exceptional Props and Set Dressing/Decor. One of the few plays I've been able to see at the small town theater and hopefully I'll have the chance to see whatever they put on next. Like most events these days it was advertised through Facebook. Even with a just a few posters around town and the facebook group the play managed to almost sell out with their last performance on Valentine's Day.

CAST:

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Abby Brewster - Sue Rose

Mrs Harper - Lea Foy

Teddy Brewster - Leif Haugen-Strand

Martha Brewster - Shelby Dolan

Mortimer Brewster - Jeffrey O'Hara

Elaine Harper - Rebecca Guilderson

Jonathan Brewster - Rob Downey

Dr Helga Einstein - Hilary Avery

Officer O'Hara - Derrek Poole

Lieutenant Rooney - Sandy Burnett

Officer Klein - Karissa Gaudreault

Officer Brophy - Diante Richard

Mr. Gibbs - Doug Maclean

Mr. Witherspoon - Scot Kimbal

PRODUCTION CREW:

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Director - Stephen Puddle

Production Manager - Stephen Puddle

Stage Manager - Karissa Gaudreault

Script Supervisor - Amy MacKay

Costumes - Melody Petlock & Sue Rose

Props - Aja Cooper

Set Construction - TBA

PR - Sandy Burnett

Artwork - Sue Rose & Fraser Orr-Brown

Set Dressing/Decor - Aja Cooper

Front of House - TBA

Lighting - Ron Kelly-Spurles

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From the Live Bait website:

Performers’ Company Announces a Recipe for Murder and Merriment

The Performers’ Company, Sackville’s popular community theatre group will present, as its first production of 2010, the ever-popular suspense-comedy “Arsenic and Old Lace.” Performances are scheduled to take place at Live Bait Theatre, February 10 – 14, 2010.

The play, which was written by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, premiered in New York in January, 1941. Its successful three-and-a-half year run on Broadway was followed in 1944 by a highly popular film adaptation directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant.

Set in Brooklyn NY, the action takes place at the home of the Brewster sisters, Abby and Martha, two elderly spinsters who delight in the self-appointed charitable task of helping “lonely gentlemen“ to find a final resting-place. They are aided in their good works by their nephew Teddy, an eccentric who is convinced that he is President Theodore Roosvelt, Also living in the Brewster mansion is Mortimer, a second nephew, who works as a theatre critic and who has been selected as a good prospect for marriage by Elaine, the only daughter of the Reverend Dr. Harper, who lives next door.

Complications arise with the arrival of a third nephew, Jonathan, the black sheep of the family, accompanied by the strangely gifted Dr. Einstein, a plastic surgeon who specializes in facial makeovers for wanted criminals. It is their intention to set up a clinic in the ancestral Brewster home. Add to the mix a squad of comically incompetent police officers and you have a formula for a farcical evening of laughter and excitement.

“Arsenic and Old Lace” is a perennial favourite among professional and amateur theatre companies alike. The Performers’ Company production will be directed by Stephen Puddle and features Sue Rose as Aunt Abby, Shelby Dolan as Aunt Martha, and Leif Haugen-Strand, Jeffrey O’Hara, and Rob Downey as their three nephews, Teddy, Mortimer and Jonathan. Other cast members include Hilary Avery as Dr. Einstein, Rebecca Guilderson as Elaine, and Derrek Poole, Nicholas Jarche and Diante Richard as the comic cops.

“One of the strengths of The Performers’ Company is our ability to draw on talent from across the whole community,” says artistic director Puddle. “Both the cast and the technical crew for this play benefit from the involvement of high school and university students as well as adult residents of Sackville. As our past productions have shown, the range of skills available in this town is truly remarkable.”

The Performers’ Company seeks to provide rewarding opportunities for actors, backstage technicians and audiences alike by presenting plays of proven worth and popularity. Past productions have included Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Noel Coward’s “Hayfever” and Ronald Harwood’s “The Dresser.”