Spring Break
First play held in new theatre a crowd pleaser
Jessica Leggin/Activites Editor
Issue date: 10/6/08 Section: News
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"For a gallon of Elderberry wine, I take one teaspoon of arsenic, and a half a teaspoon of strychnine and just a pinch of cyanide," said Martha Brewster, played by Lizzy Powers, a senior theater arts major.
"Arsenic and Old Lace," written by Joseph Kesselring and directed by Clarence Blanchette, opened Friday night in The Theatre of the Doudna Fine Arts Center. It is the first theater production held in Doudna since the renovation and expansion began in 2002.
The play tells the story of the two old ladies who decide to do a great deed by poisoning lonesome men and burying them in the basement of their cellar, also known as "the Panama Canal."
The ladies are accompanied by their three nephews: a workaholic play critic, one who seems to believe he is Teddy Roosevelt and the other who looks like Boris Karloff.
Blanchette, a retired theater professor, came out of retirement after being asked to direct "Arsenic and Old Lace."
"I missed being with the kids, and missed doing these sets," he said. "This is a classic American play."
Blanchette said he was very pleased with the audience response.
"I feel it was very successful," he said. "I feel very good about it because I am the one that guided them (the actors)."
Carly Smetko, a sophomore education major, enjoyed the play.
"I thought the play was pretty ironic," she said. "I thought it was just really funny."
Powers said it was amusing to play one of the roles of the old ladies.
"It was just a lot of room to be silly," Powers said.
Powers and Caitlin Bieda, who played Abby Brewster, said looking at everyday people helped them prepare for their role.
"We just take from people we see," said Bieda, a sophomore theater arts major. "I was like the slap-happy old lady."
State Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, played a deranged man who thought he was President Theodore Roosevelt.
Rose said he had seen "Arsenic" in sixth grade. He told The Daily Eastern News last week he thought it was a fun role to play.
Blanche and the stage crew worked on the set for the play until the night of the show.
"We were working on the set before the curtain rose," he said.
During a scene in the play, Rich Aguilera, a senior theater arts major who played Mortimer Brewster, broke one of the doors of the set.
"When I act I really get into it," Aguilera said.
For the play, Aguilera's character had to be ablProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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to move swiftly and be light on his feet.
"I had to wear ankle weights in order to move quickly around the stage," Aguilera said.
Aguilera said he was also directed to wear a suit during rehearsals to get into the character's mindset.
"It's a lot of levels in playing a character," he said.
Aguilera said this would be his final performance at Eastern.
"I am so blessed and so thankful to be here performing in Doudna," he said. "This is a hell of way to leave the stage."
Want to go?
"Arsenic and Old Lace"
• When: Performances 7 p.m. today and Tuesday
• Where: The Theatre, in the Doudna Fine Arts Center
• Tickets: $12 general public, $10 staff/senior, $5 student
Jessica Leggin can be reached at 581-7942 or at jmleggin@eiu.edu.
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