BHS Productions presents ‘Arsenic & Old Lace’ this week

BHS Productions proudly presents “Arsenic & Old Lace” by Joseph Kesselring this Thursday, Nov. 17, and Friday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. at the Belleville High School Auditorium.
Set in the early 1940s, “Arsenic” tells the story of newspaper drama critic Mortimer Brewster, a normal, run‐of‐the‐mill guy who is anxious to marry his fiancée, the girl‐next‐door and a minister’s daughter, Elaine. But standing solidly between Mortimer and matrimonial bliss is the wackiest, weirdest family tree that ever grew.
His two sweet aunts Abby and Martha have developed murder as their favorite hobby. Out of a twisted sense of sympathy, they regularly poison lonely old men with a mixture of arsenic and elderberry wine and then bury them in the cellar. Cousin Teddy sports pince‐nez and a handlebar moustache and regularly charges up San Juan Hill! And horrid brother Jonathan has just arrived from an asylum with a new face (ala Boris Karloff) and a sinister side‐kick named Dr. Einstein.
It’s “Home Sweet Homicide” as Mortimer tries to thwart the police (a kindly but goofy bunch), conceal a corpse, curtail any more killing, and convince Elaine that a wedding with a man who is drowning in such a murky gene pool would lead to nothing but woe. “Arsenic and Old Lace” is a classic comic melodrama.
This year’s production is directed by Mike Gearns and Larry Koch with set design and technical direction by Yvette Kashmer. The cast features Alyssa Schubert as Abby Brewster, Kaitlyn Plummer as Martha Brewster, Jonathan Damon as Mortimer Brewster, Frankie Cramer as Elaine Harper, Elijah Pope as Dr. Harper, Evan Roll as Teddy Brewster, Gavin Schultz as Jonathan Brewster, Demeatry Brooks as Dr. Einstein, Kenny Franklin as Mr. Gibbs, Zandalee Henderson as O’Hara, Lance Bagley as Brophy, Clayton Griffith as Klein, Natalie Pestano as Lt. Rooney, and Kamali Clora as Mr. Witherspoon.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $7 for students and seniors and will available at the box office as well as at ShowTix4u.com .