'Arsenic and Old Lace' to Play Three Nights at Lemont's Performing Arts Center

Lemont High School’s Drama Club will present a dark comedy for its annual fall play. From November 13-15, the Broadway favorite “Aresenic and Old Lace” will see its comedically murderous action unfold on the Performing Arts Center stage.

The school’s production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” is set to run nightly from Thursday, November 13, through Saturday, November 15. Performances will begin in the school’s Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. each evening. Tickets may be purchased at the door, and are $10 for adults and $7 for children, senior citizens and students with a valid school ID.

“Arsenic and Old Lace” is the most successful work of playwright Joseph Kesselring’s career. The play’s hero, Mortimer Brewster, is a drama critic living in Brooklyn and dealing with drama of his own – namely, his homicidal family. His aunts have formed a habit of poisoning lonely old men with a glass of homemade wine laced with, among other toxins, arsenic; one of his brothers is a murderer who had plastic surgery to conceal his identity; and another brother thinks he’s President Theodore Roosevelt. The action turns farcical as the local police become involved.

“Arsenic and Old Lace” will be performed under the direction of Roy Nees, with Dee Hamilton serving as the assistant director and Andrew Nelsen in charge of set construction. Junior Amber Miller will serve as the production’s student director, while junior Victoria Brier is the stage manager.

Those planning to attend any performance of “Arsenic and Old Lace” may park in the school’s parking garage or in the lot outside the Performing Arts Center; both are accessible off of Julia Street.

Lemont High School is located at 800 Porter Street in Lemont.