Written by orange• January 13, 2025• 6:03 pm• Review, Theater, Uncategorized, Westminster, westminster community theatre

Joseph Kesselring’s Arsenic and Old Lace @ Westminster Community Playhouse -Review

Photos by Laura Lejuwaan

Written by Patrick Chavis

Joseph Kesselring’s Arsenic and Old Lace is playing now at the Westminster Community Playhouse January 10 – 26,2025.

The show contains some funny, moving parts and multiple fantastic performances sprinkled throughout but lacks a cohesive vision.

Arsenic and Lace is a farce. The play centers around the Brewster family, a comically murderous family, that revolves around Mortimer (Shawn Patrick Thomas) trying to survive the police, murderous brother Jonathan (Guy C. van Empel), and crazy old aunts Martha Brewster (Sarah Hoeven) and Abby Brewster (Candy Beck) threaten his life and possible marriage.

Candy Beck (Abby Brewster) and Sarah Hoeven (Martha Brewster)

Story/Acting:

The script has an excellent comedy setup that seems to work forward and into a more disastrous place the longer the show runs. I loved the manic but kind performance from Shawn Patrick Thomas as Mortimer. Thomas does a great job displaying his uneasiness and keeping it lively. I’ll say this without dropping any spoilers. Thomas delivers one of the funniest lines in the second act. It is a fantastic line and delivery. I’ll keep it vague. The line has to do with the family history. I’ll leave it at that. The play really builds up to the line, and it’s clear why this play has been so beloved since its arrival in the early 1940s.

Jorge Agustin brings even more energy to his role as Teddy Brewster, the delusional brother who believes he is, in fact, Teddy Roosevelt, the president of the United States. Agustin’s distinctive accent and devil-may-care attitude make each appearance unique and fun. Especially in the second act, the conversations and dialogue delivery from most of the interactions sounded way more natural and studied than in the first act. It’s a genuinely zany piece, and I like the concept considerably, but its execution overall was only alright.

Jorge Agustin (Teddy Brewster)

Set/Sound/Costume Design:

The set design by Michael Corcoran and Greg Stokes and the costume design by Andrew Fernando successfully transform the U-shaped stage into a warm 1940s living room. The gorgeous burgundy wallpaper has a regal-looking floral design, and who could forget the lovely but dim candlelit atmosphere? Excellent choices for a darker comedic tale. The gaudy golden curtain and the active use and placement of the window brought a lot of character to the story. The craftsmanship of the two lifted staircases, left and right, show a higher level of craft from this particular design.

A more pronounced sound design would have done wonders for such a loud and comedic show. The sound design was so timid that it seemed barely apparent, which didn’t help much with this particular showing.

Adriana Catanzarite (Officer Klein), with a very pronounced New York accent and attitude, and Charlie Rodiquez (Einstein), with his thick German accent and physical comedy, are excellent in their supporting roles.

There’s a lot to love about this showing, and Arsenic and Old Lace isn’t a production that shows up too often. This might be your ticket if you’re a big fan of this show.