#elaine harper brewster

[angelamontoo]

Haven't made an alignment meme in a while

[mametupa]

[gnome-adjacent-vagabond]

For the love of god don't google this movie before you watch it, just go into it completely blind.

[bodiesinourcellar]

Found on Internet Archive- 1977 program for the Play Troupe of Port Washington presenting Arsenic and Old Lace

[citizenscreen]

Publicity photo shows Cary Grant as Mortimer Brewster and Priscilla Lane as his fiancee Elaine Harper in Capra’s ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944)

[themoleperson]

Cellar Symbolism in Arsenic and Old Lace (the play!!) (spoiler warning)

okay so. for context, i am playing Mortimer in my school's production of Arsenic and Old Lace, and while thinking about my blocking for the show, i realised a fun bit of potential symbolism. (spoiler warning for what's below this :3)

i'd also like to note that i make a lot of reference to "madness" within this little piece of writing. this is meant more to be in the literary sense than the psychological sense; after all, madness as a concept has some very ableist roots. however, it is the best word and the best frame of reference i can think of.

ALSO CW FOR POISON AND MURDER AND STUFF

(image credits: https://broadwayplayhome.com/shows/arsenic-and-old-lace.htm)

The Good Stuff

a little more context. this weird essay thing is not a replacement for seeing or reading the show. i do not explain the plot well. this is to serve a purpose. please read it (hopefully not the racist version) and/or watch the movie if it interests you :33

basically, if you're not familiar, this play follows dramatic critic Mortimer Brewster and his whacky family drama. his aunts (mother figures basically) kill old men and bury them in the cellar, his brother thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt, and his other brother is a murderer. there's a whole theme of madness throughout the play. the protagonist believes that his family is cursed with insanity, and as the play goes on, all the fun family hijinks have Mortimer feeling quite unwell and slightly insane. luckily, at the end of the play, he finds out he's a bastard and the day is saved, but i'd like to more deeply explore this theme of madness... especially as it relates to the cellar.

as mentioned earlier, the cellar is a body disposal site. this came to be after a man died peacefully in the care of the Brewster sisters, and wanting to bury the man, they used a lock that Teddy built for the "canal" (he believes the cellar to be Panama), bury the body, and give him a full denominationally-appropriate funeral. but the cellar also has a more interesting narrative purpose. i have noticed that every single Brewster enters that cellar at one point in the play, save for one man: Mortimer Brewster.

i posit that the cellar itself represents the Brewster madness, and every character that enters that cellar has some sort of close connection to it. the aunts, who poison people, and Teddy, their unwitting accomplice, all go down their multiple times over the course of the play. they are tainted by the Brewster madness, are participants in the bloodshed. Jonathan also goes down there, joined by his accomplice Einstein (its a long story). he is a notable murderer and enters the cellar to hide a different dead body; he, and Einstein, are participants in the Brewster madness.

this metaphor also, if you stretch it a little bit, apply to Elaine. Elaine Harper, Mortimer's fiancée as of the beginning of the play (#justice for elaine, mortimer is a dick to her), is at one point dragged down into the cellar by Jonathan, because she enters the house and discovers him. i propose that this symbolises Elaine being dragged into the Brewster madness, as much as Mortimer tried to keep her from it.

Mortimer, however, is one of several characters that does not enter the cellar. he interacts with it often, shutting the door, or shouting into it to call somebody up, but he never enters it. why is this notable, though, if other characters avoid the cellar? because Mortimer is (supposedly) a Brewster. he should be engaging with the madness, should be down in that cellar. but he's not. he stays aboveground, because he is not really a Brewster, not truly a participant in this madness. he is a bastard. (sidenote: my favorite line in the play is when i get to just scream "IM A BASTARD!!!!" its so fun).

as for the other non-cellared characters, it's interesting to see how they interact with the cellar without going inside it. my favorite example of this is Lt. Rooney. Rooney is confronted several times with characters telling him there are 13 bodies in the cellar, but he refuses to believe it. he thinks the whole thing is crazy, doesn't believe the story for a second. this comes to a head when the aunts try to invite him into the cellar to show him the graves. he almost goes, almost engages with the madness, but Mortimer stops him.

you may disagree with my interpretation, which is totally awesome and actually i really wanna hear how y'all interpret the play because i love it so much and i have NO ONE to discuss it with other than my fellow actors. i just noticed it, thought it was cool, and tried to analyse it because analysing things is fun and i like thinking about stuff to much. "no the curtains weren't just blue, they were a 'deep, melancholy' blue, and that says something about the text", and all that stuff.

anywaysss, i hope whoever reads this enjoys it. i may do more analysis stuff like this in the future; i have some good stuff cooking on a book i've been reading in class called Where the Crawdads Sing. thank you for reading!!!!

[steelcityreviews]

REVIEW: Insanity Doesn't Just Run in DLT'S "Arsenic and Old Lace," It Practically Gallops

Dundas Little Theatre (DLT) opens its 2023-24 season with the darkly comedic classic Arsenic and Old Lace. It's a great thematic choice for October: full of mystery, murder and of course, a little mayhem for good measure. Skillfully directed by Peter Lloyd, Arsenic and Old Lace is full of madcap characters, jabs at the theatre industry and its critics (of which there were several in the opening night audience) and despite its long run time of nearly 3 hours (3 Acts, 2 Intermissions), it captivates its audience with its hilarious mishaps and madness.

The story is a classic of old Hollywood black and white cinema with Cary Grant taking on the lead role of Mortimer Brewster, a man who has to navigate between his aunts’ penchant for poisoning wine, a brother who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt, and another brother using plastic surgery to hide from the police—not to mention Mortimer’s own hesitancy about marriage to his partner Elaine. If that sounds like a whirlwind of a production by synopsis alone, you'd be correct in saying so. Thankfully, we have an incredibly strong cast and after the opening night nerves subside, they excel at bringing delightfully comedic moments (especially physical), great banter back and forth, pointed commentary regarding the theatre world and its critics and an almost Benny Hill type use of the stage (there's even a few unexpected jump scares).

The leads in the production shine throughout with a few excellent scene stealers. Brian Melanson as Mortimer has brilliant facial reactions and a real knack for portraying believable manic energy. Both Ruth Flynn and Jessica Thomas-Troian as Aunt Abby and Martha respectively play out their darker deeds with such infectious sweetness, I'd eagerly take a glass of elderberry wine just because I'd feel rude not to. Tim Hevesi is a foreboding presence who immediately unnerves you as the criminally insane and family outcast Jonathan Brewster but also has a fantastic ability to use his menace for comedic purposes. Christine Marchetti is a sassy and grounded Elaine Harper, Mortimer's fiancée who finds herself the only sane character in the household. All these actors are no strangers to the stage and understand the nuances of dark comedy well.

Our scene stealers come from Jared Lenover as Teddy Brewster and Bruce Edwards as Dr. Einstein (no, not that one). Both of these actors are an absolute joy to watch from the moment they are introduced. There is an innocent enthusiasm from Lenover's Teddy who believes he is President Theodore Roosevelt and his mental health is utilized by his beloved aunties to hide any evidence of their "charitable intentions." The ongoing gag of his character would come off as tedious if it wasn't played with such endearing sincerity. Edwards plays the bumbling, drunken cowardice of Dr. Einstein with such dedication that it is easy to see why he steals every scene he is in. The line delivery and almost Muppet-like German accent are met with continuous laughter and his physical comedy skills are top notch.

The ensemble cast also delivers fine performances and overall, match the energy of the leads as they enter the Brewster madhouse. Truly, there are no small parts here as every cast member provides laughter and delight.

Arsenic and Old Lace has a well-established, classic sense of dark comedy, slapstick and charm. The script itself allows for so much physicality and ability for the cast to develop the characters into believable people rather than caricatures. It is a long show (bring cushions!) but it is well worth the time spent in the theatre and will provide audiences with plenty of laughs, intrigue and insanity. Don't miss it!

For tickets and more information, please visit: https://dundaslittletheatre.com/tickets/

Pre-show set from DLT's Arsenic and Old Lace - Photo by: Steel City Girl Reviews

[angelamontoo]

EEEE

I’m rewatching Arsenic and Old Lace and trying to draw the characters every time they’re on screen. I’m particularly happy with how Johnny, Teddy, and Mortimer look

[cinemacrypt]

Thinking abt parallels between Elaine Harper and Herman Einstein again.....how they both often find themselves put out due to the nature of what busies Mortimer and Johnathan respectively.....how they both want to find peace and settle down with their respective Brewster in their own way, with Elaine wanting Mort to get the guts to finally marry her and to love her more than he hates his job, and Herman wanting Johnathan to quit dashing all over the world so he can quit cleaning up after him (and for Johnathan to love him more than he loves bloodshed)......

[angelamontoo]

Diversity win, Women can be babygirls too

[riphimopen]

[fred-erick-frankenstein]

[thebrideofreanimator]

fun family road trip !!

[bodiesinourcellar]

Idk if anyone plays ponytown but I have the whole family. and I thought id share em