The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1959-08-13
Review of The Play

REVIEW OI l. Ilc RAY
This is it-this is the we'll written
melodrama that provides the best
evenings entertainment you or
anyone else can find at a summer
theatre. This is one of those shows
that was destined to be good. None
the less it pays to be careful when
the Brewster sisters pass the
, elderberry wine during the course
of the saga of the fruitcake which
is being presented this week at
the playhouse. Actually this is
rather facetious reference to "Ar-
Senic and Old Lace, the story of
the various BreWsters. A wackier
collection of assorted fruits and
nuts cannot be found elsewhere
than in a piece of holiday sweet
meat
The comedy melodrama Arsenic
, and Old Lace" is one of the all
time great New York hits, having
had run of over a thousand per-
formanceS. In addition it has been
successfully transferred to the mo-
ton picture screen as well as TV
showing.
1t was Miss Dorothy Stickney,
the wife of Howard Lindsay, who
brought the manuscript of the play
to the attention of her husband.
This is the same Miss Stickney
who will appear at the playhouse
the week of August 81.
To those who are not acquainted
with arsenic and Old Lace"-suf-
flee to tell you it is concerned
with two lovely Victorian spinsters
who have a penchant for assisting
elderly males out of their some
what mundane existence. This by
means of administration of home
made elderberry wine rather stiff
ly laced with lethal alkaloids. They
are assisted in this endeavor by a
nephew who fancieS himself Teddy
Roosevelt. Mortimer, another neph-
ew accidentally discovers the pc
culiarly macabre activities of these
sisters Brewster. In the meanwhile
Jonathan, the third nephew who
resembles you guess who, ar
rives on the scene with another
stiff. The remainder of the play
deals with the manner in which
the bodys of these lamented per-
sons are disposed of. Not to men
ton certain of the slightly I'M
usual BreWsterS heretofore re-
ferred.
This week it is somewhat diff
cult to single out any person to
bestow individual accolades. In
deed we have a cast working well
together and giving well knit
Interpretation.
One must give credit where it is
due, as follows:
AS the two kindly disposed
Brewster sisters we have Sal
Springwell and Rebecca Singer.
These charming ladies become de-
lightfully piXilated and make Amy
and Martha almost believable.
The three more important char
acters, and l do mean characters,
are Girls Curran as Jonathan, Aza
Stanton as Terry, and Burt Hey
man as DR.. Einstein. All of these
turned in better than average per-
formances. Girls as Jonathan is
quite sinister and malevolent. His
makeup is most effective and his
Interpretation as the heavy of the
piece could leave nothing more to
be desired. Aza actually looks more
like Teddy Roosevelt than did the
illustrations of the President him
self. At the risk of using cliche,
one must say he was natural
for the part. Never has San Juan
Hill been charged with more fervor
or determination. Burt Heyman
manages to make DR.. Einstein a
worthy associate of Jonathan.
The romantic interest is provided
by Neil Flanagan and E. j. Peaker,
and both contribute worthwhile