After some forty rehearsals, the WT winter play has recently run its course and did an amazing job in all three of their shows. If you like the Panama Canal, dead bodies, insane aunts (yes, more insane than your crazy aunt), a doctor that performs face implants, and a lot of poison, then Arsenic and Old Lace is the play for you!

Written in 1939 by Joseph Kesselring, the story follows Mortimer (living with his aunts and one of his brothers who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt), a drama critic, after discovering that his aunts have been killing old, lonely men. His life is further complicated when his other brother, Johnathan (with a new face), and friend/personal plastic surgeon, Dr. Einstein, come back home, with chaos ensuing between the murderous family. With antics and hilarity, this show was a riot, especially when you could hear that one loud dad in the audience laughing at every joke (was that you, Mr. Marx?). 

The main actors, Alex Staresinic, Mia Greiner, Aliza Shear, Jae Reynolds, Aniyah Woods, Nazhet Al-Khafaji, and Calypso Black, performed outstandingly. Dr. Olshelfski’s direction pushed them all to be the best they could be. 

Poor Jae Reynolds, though. She spent hours a day learning how to play the bugle for the role of Teddy, yet it still sounded terrible! Maybe next year, Jae. 

If you had the privilege of seeing this show in the Falk Auditorium, then you would know that anyone who didn’t see it was missing out. From the multiple dead bodies to the manic personality of Jonathan (great job, Calypso), this show was a masterclass in dark comedy, with great acting by all (including the dead bodies). 

A couple of the highlights of the show are: the theatrics of it all, the hilarious acting that allowed everyone to thrive in each of their roles, whether being the regular guy thrown into it, the naive family, or the aware team of goons, the writing helped add to the enjoyability of the play. The stunts, one of the key details of the play, involves bringing the dead bodies to the basement or into the window seat the actors, Calypso, Aniyah, and Jae all had to either drag, carry, or roll the bodies to their specific places. A huge show out to the dead bodies, played by senior Alma Pozzi and freshman Mira Resnick, for their flexibility and help while doing the stunts. 

Also a special thanks to the crew: Cheyenne, Leila, Lauren, Martha, and Erin, who were in the booth, doing wonderful lights and sound. Also, to our backstage crew, Sadie, Anju, Willa, Mira F, and Riva, for keeping everything going smoothly and gracefully throughout the show. All of them did extensive work to help keep the show going, especially Martha Pitard, the stage manager.

If you have never heard of this play, we recommend that you either go watch the movie, find a bootleg of the play, or a slime tutorial (if you know you know). But if you can’t find one, just go ask Mr. Marx for an in-depth summary of it, although that might take a bit, going off of his enthusiasm from morning meeting. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew for their amazing work, and CHARGEEEEE!!!