Cody Skinner, Contributing Photographer

From Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, the Yale Drama Coalition brought Joseph Kesselring’s 1939 classic play, “Arsenic and Old Lace,” to life in the Saybrook Underbrook. The roughly 110-minute production showcased the absurdity of the fictional Brewster family, brought to life by an ensemble of 12 members.

Director and stage manager, Roy Kohavi ’26, shared his thoughts on the show, emphasizing that it is “dark comedy at the end of the day; it isn’t a random comedy. It’s still very lighthearted, but part of the comedy plays into that darkness.”

“Arsenic and Old Lace” is a black comedy about a pair of homicidal spinster aunts, played by Brynne Aidlin-Perlman ’25 and Stephanie Acosta ’27, who unravel their murderous tendencies alongside their three eccentric children — Teddy, played by Samantha Fisher ’24, Jonathan, played by Serengeti Cox-Rodriguez ’24, and Mortimer, played by Charlie Patton ’27. Mortimer, discovering his family’s deadly secrets, must save his aunts from the authorities while steering clear of becoming a victim himself.

Amid the shuffling and storage of corpses on stage, comedy arose from the loud personalities of the Brewster family and the characters in the periphery, including a Teddy Roosevelt impersonator, a disgruntled fiancé, a dimwit cop and an alcoholic Igor — played by Fisher, Tybee Feiler ’27, Emma Kohlmayer ’25 and Nicolas Maynulet ’27, respectively.

The show made use of traditional costuming, classic makeup, vintage props and choreographed violence — made possible with the help of Jenny Mao ’24, Kerui Yang ’24, Cox-Rodriguez, Lucy Xiao ’26 and Yifei Zhao ’27, among others. 

“It’s a very 1940s script,” Patton said. “It was written in the ’40s, about the ’40s and it almost feels like a period piece set in the ’40s.”

Acknowledging the historical context of the play, having been written in 1939 and opened on Broadway in 1941, Patton noted that some lines and aspects of scenes in the original script didn’t translate seamlessly to the modern stage. To bridge this gap, Kohavi, with the help of Stage Manager Julia Murphy ’27 introduced subtle alterations from the original show, such as creative choices in sound effects, lighting and blocking.

Performers used plenty of props onstage including a ragdoll body to represent a corpse, wine bottles filled with a faux poisoned beverage, a window/curtains construct and a host of antique furniture.

A noteworthy aspect of the production was the inclusion of gender cross-casting. Kohavi spoke of the casting decisions, “I believe in genderless casting. I think every actor could play any character’s gender. In an ideal world, I’d love to change character pronouns, but sometimes that takes away from the point of the show, and this show especially is set in a more rigid time.”

Additionally, cast members spanned all levels of theater involvement, from seasoned Yale theater veteran Cox-Rodriguez, with now over eight shows under their belt, to Cameron Nye ’27, a newcomer to the stage who portrayed Officer O’Hara and Mr. Gibbs.

Reflecting on his experience, Nye shared that he first heard about the show from a recommendation by his high school theater director. Nye stated, “It was always a show I wanted to do, and I was really excited that they were doing it here, so I’m glad I got to be a part of it.”

Nye continued to elaborate on the unexpected benefits of joining the cast, highlighting how the production facilitated new friendships. According to Kohavi, these connections extended beyond the stage, which enhanced onstage chemistry, such as the camaraderie between the two aunts, played by Aidlin-Perlman and Acosta. Cast members expressed enthusiasm about continuing these friendships in future performances and spoke about the sense of community within the theatrical realm.

There are speculations that the plot of ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ is based on the real-life story of Amy Archer-Gilliam, a serial killer and nursing home proprietor from Windsor, Connecticut.

In the original ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ production, Jonathan states that his plastic surgery resembles Boris Karloff, a self-referential joke, as the part was played on Broadway by Karloff.