Review of Arsenic and Old Lace

Typically, a play about two elderly woman poisoning lonely males would never have entertained my short attention span, but "Arsenic and Old Lace" was able to grasp and maintain my interest. The cleverly complex plot (the two woman murderers have a mobster nephew) proved to be both suspenseful and engaging, encouraging audience members to examine and predict the next twist. Each scene builds the anticipation of the climactic resolution, never failing to loose the viewers' attention. Flawlessly constructed with straightforward language, the involved story was not difficult for even the simplest audience member to understand.

At the Whitman edition, the play seemed to fall short to meet the literary merit of the play. Initially, the audience assumes an outstanding performance because of the authentic sets. Beautifully designed and true to the time period, the sets transported the eager audience to the 1940's. No detail was too small for the designer. The set had working chandeliers and what appeared to be mahogany trimmed chairs. Despite the