MERCERSBURG – Mercersburg Academy Burgin Center for the Arts, 100 Academy Drive, is host to the Stony Batter Players production of Joseph Kesselring’s “Arsenic and Old Lace,” running Friday and Saturday, Oct. 24-25, at 7 p.m., with complimentary reserved general admission in the Simon Theatre.
If you haven’t visited Burgin Center for the Arts, you’re missing out on a local treasure. Housed on the Mercersburg Academy Campus and designed by New York architecture firm, Polshek Partnership, the modern design boasts classic elements that incorporate spectacular floor-to-ceiling glass outer walls, showcasing light and season like a living mural.
At the heart of the structure lies the 599-seat proscenium Simon Theatre. Branching out like artistic arteries are the 120-seat black box Hale Studio Theatre and Cofrin Gallery. A recital hall, chorale room and series of studios for dance, ceramics, art, digital art, recording, makers lab and a technical theater shop, mix with classrooms, rehearsal and office space, all connective elements supporting the vital functions of one spectacular body of creativity.
Burgin Center art installment celebrating the rich art history of the Academy
Photo credit: Kathleen Davison
The Academy’s drama legacy well precedes the Burgin Center’s 2006 opening. It is home to the Stony Batter Players, founded in 1894 by Camille Irvine, the wife of Mercersburg Academy’s founding headmaster, Dr. William Mann Irvine. Ranked as one of the oldest continuously active student drama groups in the country and claiming famous alumni in its ranks such as Jimmy Stewart and Benicio Del Toro (who paid a visit to campus in April), the Players’ name, “Stony Batter,” refers to a historic area, named after the ancestral home of President James Buchanan. Stony Batter in Cove Gap, Mercersburg, is the site believed to be Buchanan’s birthplace (1791). The log cabin structure, relocated to the Mercersburg Academy campus (1953), offers another engaging reason to visit.
Miller as Martha, Doubell as Witherspoon, & Small as Abby
“Arsenic and Old Lace,” written by Kesselring in 1939, was a Broadway smash from 1941-44, with a similarly impressive run in London’s West End, 1942-46. It was adapted for the screen in 1944 in the iconic production starring Cary Grant, directed by Frank Capra.
Stony Batter Players Director, English and theater faculty member Matt Mauer noted, “’Arsenic and Old Lace’ has always been a favorite of mine. It still holds up—it’s funny, clever and a little dark.”
This black comedy centers on the Brewster family: Mortimer, a drama critic, played by Keagan Killinger with assertive cynicism, dapper and straight as the stripes on his buttoned grey suit. Mortimer is set to be married to Elaine Harper, sharply portrayed by Maddie Mamoudis, who appears in a fetching red dress and beret that seem to imply that, though she’s the reverend’s daughter, she is far from a church mouse and as wise as she is charming.
Nothing kills the buzz of the journey to wedded bliss like kindly homicidal aunts serving up a plot twist. With the air of an elder sister, Abby Brewster, played by Ary Small, pours out a fine performance and some of the choicest lines,
“He needs something bigger to criticize. Something like the human race.”
Sister Martha, made lively by Janie Miller, gave the inside scoop, “My best friend Ary and I get to play sisters, which makes rehearsals a blast. But it’s also hard because we have to act like old ladies.” Miller continued, ”I’m so excited for everyone to notice all the details—we’ve put so much effort into creating this.”
Mortimer’s deluded brother, Teddy, fangled with the choicest props, kooky panache and magnificent moustachio, is solidly interpreted by Finn McNeil. His doting aunts unabashedly embrace that Teddy fancies himself Theodore Roosevelt, repeatedly returned to the Spanish-American War with cries of, “Charge!” as he launches up the family staircase, declaring it San Juan Hill. What’s more, his dotty indulging auntie duo have allowed him to dig the Panama Canal … in their basement.
When prim and plucky Mortimer makes a shocking discovery of more than doilies stored in the window seat, he decides he must remove the danger and protect his family, old and new. Though Mortimer is undoubtedly the straightest arrow in the quiver, it’s hard to gauge which of the Brewsters or their visitors might be best suited for the nuttery, when another falls from the family tree.
“Insanity runs in my family … it practically gallops.”
– Mortimer Brewster
The unexpected arrival of jailbreak brother Jonathan, played by Nate Cumiskey as the darkly lumbering embodiment of Boris Karloff, likewise introduces his plastic surgeon sot of a cohort, Dr. Einstein, hilariously portrayed by Jacob Bershatsky, further stirring the swizzle stick in this cocktail of comedy as the two have their own designs for the basement Panama Canal. Bershatsky steals the show with endless energy and well-turned wit, delivered with cutting precision. There’s a clear distinction between mere blocking through much of the show, versus direction being elevated to supreme art through Bershatsky’s infusion of well-placed choices, mannerisms and movement.
The stakes are upped by the fact that the Brewster sisters’ home is hospitable to drop-in visits from their cadre of friends in the local police department, including Officers: Brophy, played by Alex Ferrari; Klein, commanded by Lulu Barker; O’Hara, with Layla Ferrari behind the badge and Charlie Higgins as Lt. Rooney.
Additional supporting roles are carried by Keaton Brathwaite as Rev. Dr. Harper, father to the bride-to-be. Another to sport a marvelous mustache, Clay Doubell, plays Mr. Witherspoon, the Superintendent of Happy Dale Sanitarium, who has his job cut out for him determining who needs to be committed, that is, if he can survive his unfortunate appreciation for elderberry wine. Paul Sipes portrays Mr. Gibbs, keeping Mortimer on his toes, presenting a potential catastrophe in need of averting.
A. Ferrari, Brathwaite and Barker, visitors to the Brewster household
Mauer noted, “After doing something so serious last spring [“Twelve Angry Jurors”], I wanted to give students a completely different experience: something big, silly and full of personality.” Mauer added of the performance style, “The characters are exaggerated and quirky, which gives students a chance to really explore physical comedy and timing. More than anything, I hope they have fun and take pride in pulling off a classic that audiences of all ages can enjoy.” During intermission, he said, “I have a penchant for the ‘30s,” elaborating on his fondness for all the textures and tones that come with the era in which the show was born.
Technical Director and Set Designer Chaz Macklin created the setting for the barely controlled chaos of the Brewster home, dripping with whispers of the Victorian era through doilies, crystal chandelier, florals and greens, art and stained glass. The two short intermissions provide ample time to appreciate Macklin’s artistry with attention to detail: portraiture on the walls, a collection of clocks, and the merging lifestyles of two generations. Take time to appreciate the unsung scenic heroes: Mortimer’s typewriter, and figurines and statuary spanning everything from Jesus, to elephants, to a bust of the Bard gracing Mortimer’s desk.
Burgin Center Director of Operations Jessica Doubell shared an anecdote about lending a supportive production hand in acquiring set pieces. While shopping for vintage treasures to complement Macklin’s design, she came across a perfectly themed bust of Theodore Roosevelt, which was snapped up by another shopper, who stood in line behind her at checkout. She comically relayed her consolation clutching of a bust of Shakespeare, still providing a brilliant nod to Mortimer’s theater critic career, ultimately staged center of his desk.
Macklin also serves as light designer, drawing these madcap mysteries out of the Victorian shadows and into the spotlight of contemporary electricity, which the play conveys was installed at the insistence of Mortimer and his modern sensibilities. This contrasts with the elderly aunts’ preference for a bygone era, with Abby pining for “gentle virtues that went out with candlelight.”
Faculty emeritus Laurie Mufson, former director of theatre and the Burgin Center for the Arts, has returned as hair and makeup designer, guiding her department, including Emmie Kelley and Emma Ngotie, in the creation of characters of all ages – learning to wield the powers of makeup and brush and wig and moustache to transform an all-teen cast into decades of age diversity. Mufson regales with stories of the former Academy stage and how it gave way to current the Burgin Center, paralleling the show’s theme of evolving modernity. She knows the history well, as one who shepherded the transformation.
Teddy’s assortment of getups, the aged aunties’ Gibson Girl aesthetic and a cast array of hats ranging from pith helmet to homburg to derby to service cap, will leave you applauding Broadway Costumes of Chicago for their rentals.
Burgin Center Director of Operations Jessica Doubell is a front of house manager who knows how to host well, indulging this reporter with an impressive behind-the-scenes peek backstage and in the scene shop, generous spaces that most regional theaters have cause to envy.
Backstage, Jenny Wang keeps order as Stage Manager as the back of house is anchored by Light Board Operator Arielle Cofer and Sound Board Operator Katie Lee.
Deck Crew includes Daniel Cunningham, Jaime Madero, Cali Exeter and Isa Garza.
Cast of Arsenic and Old Lace, photo credit: Matt Mauer
Readers may contact [email protected] for more information or accommodation requests for “Arsenic and Old Lace.” Mercersburg strives to be accessible to all audience members. The Burgin will open 90 minutes prior to curtain, and theater seating will begin 30 minutes before each show. For additional information, readers may check out @mburgburgin on Instagram and the Burgin Center for the Arts at Mercersburg Academy page on Facebook.
They also may save the date for The Stony Batters’ next production, “Mean Girls,” playing Feb. 6 &7, at 7:30 p.m.
Additional free upcoming events at the Burgin Center for the Arts include the Nancy Horton Heefner Memorial Art Show in the Cofrin Gallery, running through Nov. 16.
The Dance Program presents its Fall Dance Concert in the Simon Theatre, Saturday, Nov. 15, at 7:30 p.m.
The Music Program’s Fall Pops Concert will be presented in the Simon Theatre Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7:30 p.m.
Photo credit: Jessica Doubell, except where noted
Assorted cast and crew quotes contributed by: Andrew Chang, Mercersburg Academy Class of ’26.
