Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: Philadelphia

Arsenic and Old Lace and
Laughter on the 23rd Floor

Two well-written comedies, splendidly done. Who could ask for anything more? The Walnut Street Theatre's Arsenic and Old Lace and Bristol Riverside Theatre's Laughter on the 23rd Floor prove that the best way to put the long, long winter behind you is with a warm serving of laughs.


Jennie Eisenhower and Damon Bonetti
Photo by J. Urdaneta Photography
Arsenic and Old Lace is the more venerable of the titles, a 1941 hit by playwright Joseph Kesselring that isn't the creaky relic you might think it is. The premise—two sweet old biddies turn out to be sweet old murderers—works by puncturing an air of civility with outrageous and sometimes morbid humor, yet somehow making it all palatable. And while there are a number of intertwining plots and subplots, nothing feels like padding; the crazy nephew (Ben Dibble) who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt is just as vital to the play as the long-winded policeman (John-Charles Kelly) who thinks he's a playwright.

Mary Martello and Jane Ridley are the spinster aunts who blithely describe their poisoning process as if it were the most natural thing in the world, while Damon Bonetti, as their mild-mannered nephew, gets more and more frantic. Jennie Eisenhower is the sweet fiancĂ©e who wonders about the odd turn in Bonetti's behavior, and Dan Olmstead is the mobster nephew who turns up with a murder scheme of his own and a henchman (Laurent Giroux) in tow. Under Charles Abbott's confident direction, everybody gets a chance to shine, and everybody gets a distinct piece of stage business that makes them stand out—like Martello's way of walking across the stage in short hops, or Bonetti's spit takes, or Eisenhower's way of lifting her leg as she kisses Bonetti, letting him know she's not as innocent as she seems.

Robert Klingelhoefer's luxurious set and Colleen Grady's smart costumes give the show a lot of character. And character is what makes Arsenic and Old Lace work so well.

Arsenic and Old Lace runs through April 27, 2014, at the Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Tickets are $10 —$85, with premium tickets available for $175, and are available online at www.WalnutStreetTheatre.org or www.ticketmaster.com, or by phone (800) 982-2787.


Megan McDermott, Bruce Graham, David Edwards (center), Carl Wallnau and George Deihl
Photo courtesy of BRT Staff
Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor is a terrific comedy too. It may not be in Arsenic's league—it's more a collection of gags than a cohesive play, with some of the characters sketched in rather than fully dramatized, and it can be difficult to keep everyone's names and relationships straight—but it's still a very funny piece of work. And Bristol Riverside's Theatre has crafted a solid production that delivers a lot of laughs.

Laughter on the 23rd Floor is set in 1953, when a young Neil Simon got his big break as a writer on Sid Caesar's NBC variety series "Your Show of Shows." Laughter is set in the writers' room on that show—here called "The Max Prince Show"—and the characters are all thinly disguised versions of Caesar, Simon, and the other writers on the show, most of whom went on to big success. You can appreciate Laughter without knowing the back story—you don't need to know which character is based on Mel Brooks and which is based on Carl Reiner—but knowing the history will add to your appreciation. And Simon's love for the era, and the people he worked with, shines through in every sweet, nostalgic moment of this play.

Director Keith Baker's tight ensemble keeps things rolling along quickly, although a few of the actors didn't quite land all their laughs on opening night. The best impact is made by the actors with the most outlandish roles, especially Benjamin Lloyd as a blustery hypochondriac, Carl Wallnau as the language-mangling head writer, and David Edwards as the short-tempered TV star. (Playing the Caesar-inspired character, Edwards bears a resemblance to Joseph Bologna, who played a Caesar-inspired character in the movie My Favorite Year.) Jason Simms' set and (especially) Gina Andreoli's costumes capture the era perfectly.

Laughter on the 23rd Floor isn't top-level Neil Simon, but its flaws won't get in the way of your enjoyment. It's got a lot of heart and a lot of laughs.

Laughter on the 23rd Floor runs through April 13, 2014, at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, Pennsylvania. Tickets start at $31, with discounts available for students, military and groups, and are available by calling the box office at 215-785-0100 or online at www.BRTStage.org.


-- Tim Dunleavy