Grafton – Murder comes to the Grafton High School stage Friday, Nov. 20 through Sunday, Nov. 22 as the theatre arts program presents its fall play, “Arsenic and Old Lace.”
Students have been in rehearsal since late September for the production of the 1939 Joseph Kesselring farce. The play is under the direction of Grafton High School English teacher Amanda Wrenn.
In “Arsenic and Old Lace,” newly engaged Mortimer Brewster discovers his spinster aunts have a secret recipe for murdering lonely old men: homemade elderberry wine laced with arsenic, strychnine, and “just a pinch” of cyanide. In fact, his entire family, defended from the “Mayflower,” is now composed of insane homicidal maniacs, including a brother who believes he is Theodore Roosevelt; a second brother who now resembles Boris Karloff after receiving plastic surgery; and his alcoholic surgeon accomplice, Dr. Einstein.
The cast includes Owen Edwards as Mortimer Brewster, Taylor O’Connor as Abby Brewster, Deepak Bedi as Teddy Brewster, Chelsey Deranian as Martha Brewster, Jason Lubeck as Dr. Einstein, Amelia Murray as Elaine Harper, Ceili Bowen as Mrs. Witherspoon, Matt Fraser as Mr. Gibbs, Jimmy Cherry as Rev. Dr. Harper, Megan Paluzzi as Officer Brophy, Michelle Fraser as Officer Klein, Matt Landry as Officer O’Hara and Jackson Briggs as Lieutenant Rooney.
Performances are in the Grafton High School auditorium, 24 Providence Rd., Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.
