by Zainab Khan, staff writer
Theater showcased their performance of “Arsenic and Old Lace” last week which was about two women hiding a terrible secret.
All the acts took place in one scene over the course of a night until morning. With the use of dark humor, two sisters, Abby Brewster (Ariana Isbell) and Martha Brewster (Madison Arne) are seen with a strange passion for killing men who are deemed “hopeless”. They poison the wine cups of men with cyanide and bury their bodies in the cellar.
When their nephew Mortimer Brewster (Gabriela Guerro) arrives at their house to tell them of his engagement with Elaine Harper (Tiffany Bakthy), he’s surprised to find a dead body hidden in the window seat. Outraged, Mortimer begins to doubt the front his aunts portray which then leads to constant arguments with Elaine. Then, unexpectedly, his younger brother Jonathan Brewster (Alyssa Kammerer) comes with a stiched up face and Dr. Einstein (Sophia Tran). Einstein and Jonathan are up to no good; they attempt to hide a body of their own and the plot thickens when they find out that their sweet aunts are just as passionate about killing men as they are.
Gabriela Guerro plays her character Mortimer well by acting shocked and surprised in the scenes and always attempts to make a rational decision in the moment of despair. The ending ties the loose ends together and just before Mortimer, is about to loose his head (quite literally) living in a house with murders, he finds out that he is not a Brewster and was actually adopted. The news brings him joy as does Elaine’s return in the early morning.
The set design beautifully portrays the 1940’s theme and the costumes of the cast also well represent the time. The women have very long and modest dresses and heavy makeup with their hair pinned up. This was a truly remarkable performance by the whole cast, especially since the cast consisted of all girls taking on both the roles of men and women in the show.
