On Stage

Murderous comedy slays at MDT

Arsenic and Old Lace opens Friday

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HILLSBORO — Up next in Myers Dinner Theatre’s 25th anniversary season will be the classic farce Arsenic and Old Lace, opening Friday and running through Nov. 8.

Of the 12 plays written by Joseph Kesselring, Arsenic and Old Lace, which opened on Broadway in 1941, is the most successful. According to the opening night review in the New York Times, the play was “so funny that none of us will forget.” The famous comedy became best known for the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra.

Inspired by real-life serial killer Amy Archer-Gilligan, who was convicted of poisoning her boarders for their pensions. Arsenic and Old Lace debuted on Broadway in 1941. The New York Herald Tribune called it “riotously hilarious,” and the New York Herald-Tribune pronounced it “side-splitting and terrific.” It went on to play 1,444 performances and was made into a now-classic film directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant.

Arsenic and Old Lace will be Directed by MDT Artistic Director Jeremy Littlejohn. The production features a cast of both fresh and familiar faces, including returning alumni Jacob Ault of Illinois, Elsa Scott Besler of Missouri, Travis Bird of Decatur, Martin Flowers of Nappanee, Don Hart of Columbia City, Mahlon Nevitt of Crawfordsville, Robert E. Poynter and Jason Ryan Wallace of Lafayette, Bill Rubenstein of Waynetown, Ginny Pugh Spillman of and Thomas J. Besler of Iowa.

Arsenic and Old Lace opens Friday and runs through Nov. 8, with weekday and Saturday matinees seating for dinner at noon and curtain at 1:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday evening performances seat for dinner at 6 p.m. with curtain at 8 p.m. and Sunday twilight with seating for dinner at 5 p.m. and curtain at 6:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased by phone at 765-798-4902, ext. 2, or by
visiting our website at
www.myersdt.com. Performance dates vary, so consult our online calendar for show dates and times. Theatre prices are $44 for dinner and theatre, $32 for students (ages 4-18), and show-only for $30. Prices do not include taxes and handling fee.

The remainder of the 2020 season includes: Hollywood, Hearth & Home: A Christmas Revue. Group pricing and bus parking are also available.  Myers Dinner Theatre is at 108 Water St., Hillsboro, and handicap accessible.


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