Arsenic and Old Lace

Joseph Kesselring’s 'Arsenic and Old Lace' stands as the undisputed champion of dark American screwball comedy, delivering an unmatched masterclass in macabre farcical structure since its historic 1941 premiere. The hilarious plot centers on Mortimer Brewster, a cynical theater critic who discovers to his absolute horror that his two sweet, elderly maiden aunts have developed a charitable habit of poisoning lonely old bachelors with elderberry wine laced with arsenic, disposing of the bodies in the cellar with the help of his delusional brother who believes he is Theodore Roosevelt. Whether representing the original Fulton Theatre runs or definitive star-studded revivals, this piece is an essential pillar of classic American comedy history.