ARSENIC AND OLD LACE Inspires Laughter At Livonia Community Theatre

Two murderous old ladies, a Theodore Roosevelt impersonator, a Boris Karloff look-alike and a theater critic in love come together for an evening of fun and laughter as Livonia Community Theatre presents Arsenic and Old Lace, a comedy by Joseph Kesselring. The show runs November 16-17, 2018 at 7:30 pm, and November 18, 2018 at 2:00 pm.

David Culliton (Livonia) plays Mortimer, the drama critic who hates theater, and Sara Borsodi, (Redford) is the girl he wants to marry. But just as Mortimer ventures to share their good news with his seemingly harmless little-old-lady aunts (Sue Krekeler and Patsy Girnys, Livonia), he discovers the sisters' have a habit of murdering lonely old men as an act of charity. Add Mortimer's crazy brothers Teddy (Keith Schooley, Livonia), who thinks he's Theodore Roosevelt, and homicidal maniac Jonathan Brewster (Guy Copland, Berkley) who looks like Boris Karloff thanks to phony plastic surgeon Dr. Einstein (Daniel T. Muldoon, Madison Heights) and the result is a mix of laugh-out-loud hilarity and macabre mayhem. Also in the ensemble are Michael Kain (Livonia), Robert Tony Parsons (Redford), Daryl Collins (Novi), Roger Glynn (Livonia) and Brian Culliton (Livonia).

"Arsenic and Old Lace is a comedy theatre classic," says Director Pat Hutchison of the play that first opened on Broadway in 1941. "Actors and audiences alike love the irreverent humor and dark comedy. It's fast paced and the laughs keep coming, and we all need a good laugh these days!"

Hutchison notes the cast ranges in age from 17-78, and includes an entire family either acting or working stagecraft. "One of our missions at LCT is to give families a chance to participate in theater together," she says. "We do it with our all age summer musicals, and I'm glad to see it happening in this show as well."

All performances are at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, 27475 Five Mile Road, Livonia. Tickets are $10 for adults; $8 for seniors; and $5 for students 18 and under. Visit livoniacommunitytheatre.org to order online, or call 248-252-1940 to reserve by phone. Tickets are also available at the door.

Arsenic and Old Lace opens the Livonia Community Theatre's eighth season, whose theme is It's A Mystery! The group will present Clue, the Musical on March 29-30, 2019 and April 6-7, 2019, and The Secret Garden musical on July 25-27, 2019.

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