Classic black comedy still packs quite a punch

The leap from tragedy to comedy is sometimes nothing more than a really short hop.

That's the case with "Arsenic and Old Lace," a 1939 script that draws darkly and hilariously on two old women's preoccupation with emancipating hopelessly lost souls through murder.

"There's something inherent in the darkness of its comedy that people really appreciate," said Scott Bishop, who is directing Summer Place Theatre's production of the show, set to open today at Naperville Central High School.

Bishop is making his Summer Place debut with a resume that features director and assistant director credits with several theater companies, including Bailiwick Repertory Theatre in Chicago, and whose work in academia includes five years as theater director at Notre Dame High School in Niles.

"I wanted to work with Summer Place because they've got a strong reputation and they've been around a while," he said. As for "Arsenic," he said, "It's a show that I've seen before. It definitely stands up to the test of time. Overall, it's one of those classic comedies."

The story, written by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, ran on Broadway for more than three years and starred Cary Grant in the 1944 movie version.

"The premise is about these two old ladies who are aunts and who live together," said Matt Colbert, who is co-producing the show with David Lindley.

Colbert said the women appear to be polite, well-meaning, even caring people, except that they have a habit of lethally poisoning visitors.

"They think what they're doing is mercy killing," Colbert said.

And, though chilling on the face of it, their penchant for murder comes off as funny.

"You're laughing every time they pick up the body," Colbert said.

Ironically, Bishop said, Kesselring wasn't aiming for the funny bone when he began writing "Arsenic."

"It was supposed to be a murder mystery drama," he said.

Bishop, who lives in Chicago, said the story line is not of the who-done-it variety; it's more of a farce.

"You know from the beginning who did it," he said. "You find yourself pulling for the two old ladies who are mass murderers."

The three-act play runs about two and a half hours, he said, including a 15-minute intermission. The opening night audience will have an opportunity to meet the cast immediately following the performance.

The action, set in Brooklyn, begins when New York drama critic Mortimer, the aunts' nephew, visits and several other less-than-sane family members show up.

Bishop said popular culture references in the show firmly set the action in the early 1940s. Still, the script affects everyone in the show the same way.

"They're all laughing - everyone from the 16- to the 70-year-old - they're all laughing together," he said of cast rehearsals. "It's kind of a perfect little play. Everything falls into place."

If you go

What: "Arsenic and Old Lace," presented by Summer Place Theatre

When: 8 p.m. today, Saturday and July 18 and 19; 2 p.m. Sunday and July 20

Where: Naperville Central High School auditorium, 440 W. Aurora Ave., Naperville

Tickets: $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, $8 for children younger than 12

Info: (630) 355-7969 or summerplacetheatre.org