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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Local Lego robotics teams receive high marks at state tournament ... Amy's Kitchen sues potato distributor, alleging debris in shipment ... Phoenix bank robbery suspect jailed ... Local Lego robotics teams receive high marks at state tournament ... Amy's Kitchen sues potato distributor, alleging debris in shipment ... Phoenix bank robbery suspect jailed ... REVIEW REVIEW: Carson, Patton shine in 'Arsenic and Old Lace' Comment By Roberta Kent for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Roberta Kent for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 2, 2015 at 1:26 PM Updated May 6, 2015 at 10:24 AM By Roberta Kent for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 2, 2015 at 1:26 PM Updated May 6, 2015 at 10:24 AM » Social News “Arsenic and Old Lace” is comfortably familiar. It is one of those plays we all think we know, if only by its reputation. The challenge for Camelot Theatre’s production of the venerable black comedy is to blow out real or imagined cobwebs and make the “old chestnut” seem new and vibrant. When “Arsenic and Old Lace” opened on Broadway in 1941, it was like a breath of fresh air. Audiences had never seen anything like it — it was a macabre murder mystery and a wild farce rolled into one. For this outlandish farce to work, director and actors must tread a fine line between straightforward delivery of improbable dialogue and outright hysteria. Director Paul R. Jones hits the right notes for the most part. When he keeps playwright Joseph Kesselring’s insanely intricate plot line moving briskly, the play sparkles. When the frantic physical comedy upstages the play’s clever dialogue, the production flags. Abby and Martha Brewster are two sweet, demure maiden aunts living in an exquisitely preserved 19th century townhouse in Brooklyn. They fill their days doing good works — delivering hot soup to shut-ins, baking cookies for local policemen on the beat, having their minister over for tea. Their charitable work also extends to providing a final solace to elderly, homeless men. Abby and Martha quietly poison the poor dears with a proffered glass of elderberry wine laced with arsenic, cyanide and strychnine. The bodies are buried — after appropriate funeral services — in the basement by the ladies’ endearingly daft nephew, Teddy. Teddy, you see, believes he is President Teddy Roosevelt. He races upstairs yelling “Charge!” because he thinks he is rushing San Juan Hill. He blows a bugle to announce imagined cabinet meetings. And he is digging the Panama Canal in the basement. He believes the occasional bodies are yellow fever victims. The game is up when the aunties’ “sane” nephew, Mortimer, a theater critic, discovers a newly dispatched body under the window seat. Mounting mayhem ensues as the horrified Mortimer tries to keep the family secret. The arrival of Mortimer’s homicidal maniac brother Jonathan (who looks like Boris Karloff) with his reluctant, German-accented accomplice and the willful disbelief of the neighborhood cops keep the pot boiling right up to the gleeful and unexpected finale. Shirley Patton and Brandy Carson are the reason to see this production. They are perfect as the matter-of-fact, properly prim maiden aunts — a matched pair in rational-sounding insanity. Patton and Carson are textbook examples of perfect timing and understated elegance. While Tyler Ward has the presence demanded for Mortimer and can also pull off the required elaborate pratfalls, his mugging occasionally goes over the top. In contrast, Don Matthews as the maniacal Jonathan and Rob Hirschboeck’s hapless Dr. Einstein keep their physical highjinks to a minimum. Matthews’ makeup as Boris Karloff is so uncanny you cannot take your eyes off him when he swoops onto the stage. Brian O’Connor is a convincing Teddy, so consistently clueless and cheerful that you understand why everyone is willing to keep him around. The other characters — a lugubrious minister (Jack Seybold), his plucky and determined ingénue daughter (Brianna Gowland) and a gaggle of stereotypical Irish cops (C.H. Chou, Tim Kelly and Seybold) — amusingly fill out the action until the resourceful Mortimer finds a solution to his serial-killer-aunties being on the loose. Camelot’s production values, as always, are impeccable. Scenic designer Don Zastoupil provides a convincingly fusty Victorian mansion. Costume designer Donna Boehm’s elaborate “old lace” confections for the aunts beautifully contrast with the “snappy” 1941 outfits of the other characters. “Arsenic and Old Lace” is exquisite, goofy fun, even if, at times, it tries too hard to be eccentric. See it for Patton and Carson and the play’s wonderful, zany history and let yourself be carried away. Roberta Kent is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach her at [email protected]. By Roberta Kent for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Roberta Kent for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 2, 2015 at 1:26 PM Updated May 6, 2015 at 10:24 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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