Murder and Laughs in Sunset Playhouse's 'Arsenic and Old Lace'

Joseph Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace, a dark family comedy of homicide and mental illness, could easily turn too dark if mishandled. This month's Sunset Playhouse production treads the darker edge of the play without compromising the overall tone of what is essentially a good-natured, dysfunctional-family comedy.

Kay Esposito and Victoria Metz Heckman are charming as Abby and Martha Brewster, two elderly sisters who take in lonely bachelors as lodgersand then put them out of their misery by feeding them poison (quite without their permission) and burying them in their basement. Esposito and Heckman seem to effortlessly shrug off the biggest challenge of the play: making the homicidal desires of two retired women seem sweet and innocent, even as other unsavory details like racism are revealed in their dialogue. (Burying a foreigner in the basement alongside their Christian victim? Unthinkable to them.)

The ensemble comedy features sparkling performances from around the edges of the action. Of particular note here is Michael Pocaro in the role of Teddy Brewster, a grown man who believes himself to be Teddy Roosevelt. Pocaro delivers a robust, highly sympathetic performance, and actually looks like Roosevelt in the role.

Andy Lien also gives a notable performance as the criminally twisted Jonathan Brewster, who drops by with one of his associates, a plastic surgeon for the mob. Lien isn't given much depth to work with beyond the basic villain archetype, but his portrayal of that stereotype is flawless, and his considerable level of menace gives the production a palpable sense of conflict. Sunset Playhouse's production of Arsenic and Old Lace runs through Sept. 18. For ticket reservations, call 262-782-4430.