‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ opens Ghostlight’s new season in Sun City West
Posted 8/25/19
A literary classic is coming to Sun City West when “Arsenic and Old Lace” opens a stage run 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12 at Ghostlight Theatre, 13541 W. Camino del Sol.
Joseph Kesselring’s …
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‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ opens Ghostlight’s new season in Sun City West
Posted
A literary classic is coming to Sun City West when “Arsenic and Old Lace” opens a stage run 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12 at Ghostlight Theatre, 13541 W. Camino del Sol.
Joseph Kesselring’s classic dark comedy premiered on Broadway in January 1941. Amazon sums up the plot as, “An easygoing drama critic discovers that his kind and gentle aunts have a bizarre habit of poisoning gentlemen callers and burying them in the cellar.”
“Classics don’t happen by accident,” Ghostlight director Helene Benigno said. “For a play to become a classic, I believe it has to be a ‘perfect storm’ of great writing, acting and direction. I know some people re-imagine classics to fit current time periods and trends, but for me, once any necessary changes are made to accommodate the space, talent (and budget), I never completely alter something that was so well done the first time. Do I tweak it to fit my vision? Definitely. Do I make changes that would cause the playwright to roll over in their grave? Never!”
The stage show got a new life with a film adaptation in 1944, directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant. The American Film Institute recognized it at No. 30 on “100 Years ... 100 Laughs”; its list of America’s 100 Funniest Movies, selected by AFI’s panel of more than 1,500 leaders of the American movie community.
With murder in the plot, it’s a true dark comedy.
“I love dark comedies,” Ms. Benigno stated. “To me, the process to get a successful audience reaction is to mix an intense subject, intelligent writing, silly humor and just a little shock value. It’s important to present it so that the audience isn’t hit over the head with it, but instead, allow them to put together two plus two and conclude that four is funny. The amount of emotions that an audience is exposed to, sometimes all at once, is a magnificent creation.”
“Arsenic and Old Lace” opens Ghostlight’s celebratory 10th season.
