Word: arsenic
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SURELY EVERYONE by now has seen either the 1944 film version of Arsenic and Old Lace starring Cary Grant or one of the myriad productions of this silly black comedy that have infested every American high school. Yet here it is again, on a Harvard stage, and it is amazing not only that someone felt the need to stage it one more time, but that it is still funny...
...Arsenic was ever funny seems a mystery. This alleged black comedy is really a Victorian comedy of manners in disguise. Mortimer Brewster and Elaine Harper are in love, but the antics and machinations of his relatives threaten to destroy the romance. The twist is that his relatives are all crazy, and some of their antics are murderous...
Still, minor faults like Keckler's delivery, or the Cambridge Police patches on the Brooklyn policemen's uniforms, are forgivable. Even such larger faults as the play's mindless premise are forgivable because Arsenic and Old Lace is still amazingly funny...
Just up Mass. Ave., past the Old Cambridge Burying Ground on Garden St., lies Arsenic and Old Lace, a hot spot for learning about the heritage of Hallowe'en. Specializing in occult supplies and antique clothing, Arsenic and Old Lace smells of must and mysticism...
Despite their strange sense of humor, the staff of Arsenic and Old Lace are serious about their beliefs. "Wicca is a religion, a philosophy, and a way of life," says Floyd who is also a practicing mystic. But the widespread stereotype of witches as the evil, magic hags of legends and fairy tales is in no way related to modern reality, she is quick...