FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                Contact:  Antoinette Maciolek, Public Relations March 21, 2011                                                                                610-359-5276 (o) 215-917-1200 (c)

Delaware County Community Presents Arsenic and Old Lace

(Media, PA)  Arsenic and Old Lace, a play by Joseph Kesselring, will be presented by Delaware County Community College Theater Arts Department  on April 6 – 9 and April 13 – 16 (Wednesday through Saturday) at the Marple Campus – 901 South Media Line Road, Media, PA in the large auditorium.  All performances begin at 7:00 p.m.  Tickets are $6.00 at the door. 

Arsenic and Old Lace, directed by Stephen Smith, is a dark comedy about the Brewster sisters, who also happen to be serial murderers.  The two elderly sisters are famous in their Brooklyn neighborhood for their numerous acts of charity. Unfortunately, their charity includes poisoning lonely old men who come to their home looking for lodging. The two women are assisted in their crimes by their mentally challenged nephew who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt and who frequently blasts a bugle and yells ‘‘charge’’ as he bounds up the stairs. Matters get complicated when a second nephew, a theater critic, discovers the murders and a third nephew appears after having just escaped from a mental institution. When Mortimer (the “sane” nephew) finds out about the bodies in his aunts’ cellar, he must find a way to resolve the situation without his family going to prison.  It is not an easy task having to deal with his crazy, homicidal family, his new fiancé and the local police.

Arsenic and Old Lac opened on Broadway on January 10, 1941 and closed in June 1944 having played 1,144 performances.

The cast and crew members are students from the College and come from various disciplines and curricula.  The Drama Department is committed to providing a comprehensive theater education for its students.  In turn, they bring the results to the community through vibrant, thought-provoking productions, featuring one play per semester in a setting that provides the community access to professional quality theater.

The College’s Theater Department produces one play each semester.  Recent productions included King Lear, An Ideal Husband, The Tempest, The Good Woman of Setzuan, and Twelfth Night. 

Reservations are recommended. For more information, please visit our new website at www.dccc.edu or call 610-359-5000

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