If anyone asked me my first thoughts about Arsenic and Old Lace, I would say that if you have a weak stomach, you should avoid this play. I would then say, if you can handle some mildly creepy story lines, you will spend the night laughing away. Arsenic and Old Lace was both hysterical and darkly disturbing, making it quite the unique experience for me.
Walking into a dinner theatre was an experience in itself. I got to sit down at a table of strangers, have some delicious food, and socialize before the play even started. This made the evening rather magical and added a lot to the experience as a whole. It felt more like I was spending the night out having a grand experience than simply going for some entertainment to pass the hours. And then when we’d finished sipping our coffee and exchanging our last pleasantries, we watched the lights dim as the play began.
I was pleasantly surprised by the talent of the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre. They put on a very seamless show, making everyone in the audience really feel immersed in this Brooklyn story. Since the cast used the room itself as a prop, I felt very close to the characters. Perhaps this is why I also felt very affected by the eerie plot. Every time there was harm attempted on one of the characters, I felt as if I was in truly with them in that room watching it happen. Of course, the frightening plot was not pushed beyond its purpose of creating humour. Every dark scene played into this sense of a darkly sarcastic world, where nothing is taken very seriously, and everyone’s actions were treated as fleeting and unaffecting. In this sense it played off the true tragedy seen in our own world, where people fly through life without really seeing what’s right in front of them.
Overall, I had a great night with many laughs amongst good company. I very much look forward to seeing another dinner theatre in the future, as well as being able to watch the movie version of Arsenic and Old Lace, starring Cary Grant. I highly recommend both of these to all of you out there as well.
