HAGERSTOWN – Potomac Playmakers is gearing up to celebrate its centennial birthday in 2026, so it’s timely to pay tribute to a classic oldie but goodie.
Joseph Kesselring’s “Arsenic and Old Lace” was written in 1939, hitting The Great White Way on January 10, 1941, where it debuted at the Fulton Theatre. On Sept. 25, 1943, the play moved to the Hudson Theatre and continued to serve up elderberry wine on Broadway until June 17, 1944.
Boris Karloff originated the role of Jonathan, a dastardly prison escapee on the lam with his plastic surgeon, Dr. Einstein, who is explained in the play to have transformed Jonathan’s face to look like Boris Karloff (the original film face of Frankenstein). This gave the real Karloff the distinction of playing a character disguised as … himself. Karloff gave permission for his name to be used in the play in perpetuity; his likeness now passed down to Joseph Baltz in the Potomac Playmakers production.
Bound by a strict contract with the play’s producers, stipulating that the film adaptation could not be released until the Broadway run came to a close, “Arsenic and Old Lace” graced the silver screen in 1944, directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant in the role of Mortimer, which you can now see interpreted by Nik Henle on the Playmakers stage.
Playmakers’ Board President and production Assistant Director Greg Berezuk said, “The show is a community theater classic, standing the test of time and still retaining its humor.”
The long-running success of “Arsenic” lends greater levity to the play’s dialogue. Rev. Dr. Harper, played by Tom Semmes, refers to drama critic Mortimer’s “unfortunate connection with the theatre,” and Mortimer’s Aunt Abby responds, “he says the theatre can’t last much longer anyway.” Yet, here we are, 84 years later.
Seasoned Director Sarah Trent holds an M.A. in theater from Regent University and is proud to make her mainstage debut with Playmakers, after previously directing for their One Act Festival.
The delightfully twisted plot centers on the family of Mortimer Brewster. Mortimer is a drama critic, played by Nik Henle. Henle flexes his seasoned actor chops in his Playmakers debut, striking all the right anxious notes as he battles the odds stacked against Mortimer to regain order and security in his mad family, who he has discovered to be implicit in a murder (or 11, or 12 … or maybe 24). He declares, “It’s not only against the law, it’s wrong!”
Henle as Mortimer, Romero as Abby and Hufstedler as Martha
Linda Romero plays daft Aunt Abby. When her sister returns from visiting a hospitalized gentleman and announces that the doctor will have to amputate in the morning, Abby hopefully inquires, “Can we be present?” pulling the shades to darken this comedy.
Romero noted, “The first time I saw live theater, was with my mother playing Abby when I was just a little girl. She was much younger, probably in her 30s.” With a glint in her eye, Romero adds, “I’m much more Abby’s natural age.” This marks Romero’s second show with Playmakers, having played Doris in “Cemetery Club” earlier this year.
Jane Hufstedler returns to the Playmakers stage to play Aunt Martha in doddering style. She said, “it’s never too late to pursue something challenging in one’s retirement years.” The Brewster sister pairing of Romero and Hufstedler proves a winning comic chemistry and demonstration of talent not waning with age.
ABBY: “Murdered? Certainly not. It’s one of our charities.”
MARTHA: “Why, what we’ve been doing is a mercy.”
Zuna as Teddy
Mortimer’s brother Teddy, performed to the hilt by Jim Zuna, is deluded to believe himself to be Teddy Roosevelt. No audience will doze with his rousing bugle blasts as he charges up San Juan Hill (aka: the staircase), exclaims “Bully!” in signature TR style, and makes declarations as he sallies off to dig the Panama Canal … in the basement. Zuna delivers full bodied passion in Teddy’s conviction that keeps the audience in stitches.
Zuna as Teddy
Brother Jonathan lumbers to life through the talents of Joseph Baltz, a Frederick-based actor and voiceover artist. Baltz knows how to hang a looming threat on every syllable and glare. Surely Karloff would approve.
Baltz as Jonathan
Jonathan’s ravenous, exhausted and submissive cohort, Einstein, is played by Richard Dobson Sr. with a German dialect and whining humor to Jonathan’s bullying. This marks Dobson’s third play with Playmakers and leaves the audience hungry to see more of his talents in future productions.
Anna Ressler plays Elaine Harper, whom Mortimer asks to marry him and no sooner makes her his fiancee, than ushers her out the door … and with good cause to protect her, given his discovery in the window seat. Crisp and articulate, it is no wonder that Ressler is a pastor (Hebron Mennonite Church) in real life. She brings class and early 1940s glamor as the loving but direct partner to Mortimer. Ressler returns to the Playmakers stage after recently playing Catherine in their production of “A View from the Bridge.”
Ressler as Elaine and Henle as Mortimer, “Insanity runs in my family … it practically gallops.”
The stakes are raised by frequent visits from the local police. Officer Brophy is played by Blaine Hatch, who has been involved with community theater since 2017, and brings a knock around NYC dialect to capture the essence of the Brooklyn streets.
Playing the role of Officer Klein marks Chris George’s first show with Playmakers. He did theater in high school and college and, after some time away, returned to the stage this year.
Officer Gibbs and O’Hara are played by Tannen Smith, who has been active with Playmakers for a little over two years. He plays up O’Hara well, replete with Irish brogue.
Bruce Kloster returns to the stage, after an eight-year absence, to play Lt. Rooney. He noted that he “loves playing small but important roles.”
Tom Semmes doubles as Rev. Dr. Harper and Mr. Witherspoon, superintendent of the Happy Dale Sanitarium, and tragic lover of elderberry wine. He must retain composure in the face of outrageous lines like Abby’s, “It may not be very charitable of me, but I’ve almost come to the conclusion that this Mr. Hitler isn’t a Christian.”
Makeup Designer Andrew J. Stover deftly crafts everything from the look of Jonathan’s Boris Karloff plastic surgery to Elaine’s classically refined fresh face.
Costume Designer Rachel Lum’s work shines — from the Victorian garb of Abby and Martha, to Elaine’s gold taffeta dress and cut velvet shawl, to Teddy’s Roosevelt attire for all adventures. Pith helmets to pill box hats, brooches and gloves make all the right finishing touches.
Technical Director and Light and Sound Designer Ali Bauman is also a teacher at Barbara Ingram School For the Arts. Bauman casts green hued orbs across set pieces, seeming to imply the sickly green one might feel after a sip of Abby and Martha’s fateful wine, or perhaps the odors that must surely be rising from the basement.
Blaine Smith designed the set, which boasts impressive soaring walls papered and painted, Victorian touches of lace and drapes, oriental rug, a crystal chandelier and, of course, the window seat and instrumental window that becomes central to plot tensions.
More behind the scenes support comes from Property Masters Greg Berezuk and Christine Grable, with Christine also acting as stage manager.
The show runs weekends Nov. 7-16: Friday Nov. 7 and 14 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 8 and 15 at 3 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 9 and 16 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20 and $15 for seniors 65+. They can be purchased at PotomacPlaymakers.org or at the door: 17303 W. Washington St., Hagerstown.
Up Next: Potomac Playmakers auditions for “Whodunit … the musical” by Ed Dixon, Monday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. at the theater.
Mark your calendars now for the Playmakers’ annual Shakespeare production, this year featuring “The Taming of the Shrew,” Jan. 17 at 3 and 8 p.m., and 18 at 3 pm. Come get bawdy with the Bard!
“Please don’t hold it against him that he’s a drama critic … somebody has to do these things.” -Abby Brewster
Photo Credit: Susan Kleit, courtesy of Potomac Playmakers
