Art Imitates Life at Center Playhouse in Freehold!

Life often imitates art as with Eric McDonough, an actor in rehearsal playing Jonathan Brewster, the strange and murderous brother/nephew in Center Player's production of Arsenic and Old Lace that opens October 18th and runs through November 17th at Center Playhouse in Freehold.

Eric has been a licensed funeral director since 1993 and has worked for several firms including the Riggs and Bugbee-Riggs Funeral Homes, in Southern Ocean County and for nearly ten years at the Pable-Evertz Funeral Home, in Point Pleasant, where he lives. 

"The moment Eric spoke the lines of Jonathan at our audition, I knew we had a perfect match for the role!" said Bernice Garfield-Szita, director of the production.

When Eric was young, he developed a penchant for villainous roles from his late grandmother. They often spent Saturday afternoons watching horror hosts such as Dr. Shock and Creature Double Feature, both in Philadelphia, presenting film fright-fests of yesteryear. Names such as Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price, and Boris Karloff were ingrained in him at a young age.

This affection for evil played well into to his first theatrical role as The Big Bad Wolf in a Kindergarten production of The Three Little Pigs and later in life led to other villainous roles such as Captain Hook in Peter Pan and the title role in Dracula.

After hearing an old time radio broadcast of Boris Karloff as Jonathan Brewster, the role he originated on Broadway in Arsenic and Old Lace and seeing the movie adaptation featuring Raymond Massey, Eric and many others, said, “Face it, that part is you. You’ll play that someday.”

Fast forward over twenty years to 2009 and that opportunity came with the Spring Lake Theatre production of Arsenic and Old Lace, which led to recreating the role in three other productions of the piece and now the fifth at Center Playhouse in Freehold.

When asked why Arsenic and Old Lace and the role of Jonathan resonated so deeply for Eric, he responded, "For me, this play represents that we’re all a bit off-kilter in our own way and some of us cheer the villain on. Every actor has ‘the part you’re born to play’ and some find it and some do not. Fortunately, I was introduced to Jonathan many years ago and I’ve discovered that he’s not all bad. Actually, he’s been very good to me. He’s opened a lot of doors."

As a side note, the “instrument kit” used to almost “operate” on dear, brother Mortimer was created with old and vintage embalming instruments gathered over the years by fellow funeral director and employer the late Bob Evertz. When first putting it together, which “tools” to use were determined by Bob, co-worker Matt Maurer, and Eric simply by saying, “Yeah, use that one, that looks creepy and will shine in the dim light.”

"This play will tickle the audience with it's delightfully weird and humorous characters, authentic Victorian set and make them shiver as the murderous plot unfolds!" added Ms. Garfield-Szita. "Don't miss this fast paced classic, just in time for the Halloween Season."

Arsenic and Old Lace premiers at Center Playhouse, located at 35 South Street in downtown Freehold, Friday, October 18th and runs through November 17th, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $25 for Adults and $23 for Seniors & Students. A desert theater, ticket price includes gourmet desserts and other refreshments. Group rates for parties of ten or more are available. Seating is limited so call the box office at (732) 462-9093 or visit us online at www.CenterPlayers.org to securely purchase tickets.