Arsenic and Old Lace-WI Lutheran High School

Wisconsin Lutheran High School Presents

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE A Comedy in Three Acts

By JOSEPH KESSELRING

Friday, November 4 – 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 5 – 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 6 – 1:30 p.m.

Featuring Jacob Besler Lydia Buske John Doll Nicole Gawel Andrew Hahm

Grace Hanson Sam Hanson Michael Jeske Winzel Kitzman-Kelley

Toriean Lever Joshua McNeill John Plaski Nick Prier Kerruan Sheppard

Is presented through special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. 440 Park Avenue South, New York, NY, 10016

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SYNOPSIS OF PLOT (This synopsis was taken from Dramatists Play Service, Inc.) In Arsenic and Old Lace “we meet the charming and innocent ladies who populate their cellar with the remains of socially and religiously “acceptable” roomers; the antics of their brother who thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt; and the activities of the other brother—these require no further description or amplification here.”

SCENES The entire action of the play takes place in the living room of the Brewster home in Brooklyn.

Time: 1941.

Act 1: An afternoon in September.

10 Minute Intermission Act 2: That same night.

Act 3: Scene 1: Later that night.

Scene 2: Early the next morning.

Please do not take flash pictures or use recording equipment during the performance.

Thank you for your cooperation.

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D I R E C TO R ’ S N O T E After spending weeks with this cast, I can’t help but thank the Lord for the unique gifts with which He has so richly blessed these students. The actors behind the characters are as unique as the original characters in this show. I’m excited to see the paths on which the Lord will lead you and rather than “Brewster acts of charity” how you use your many talents as “acts of service to our Lord.” To the actors… thanks for playing for these past weeks. To the crews… thank you for all of your hard work behind the scenes to make this possible.

CAST (in

or der of appe ar ance)

Abby Brewster..........................................................................................................Grace Hanson Rev. Dr. Harper....................................................................................................................John Doll Teddy Brewster............................................................................................................Jacob Besler Officer Brophy.......................................................................................... Winzel Kitzman-Kelley Officer Klien..............................................................................................................Andrew Hahm Martha Brewster.......................................................................................................... Lydia Buske Elaine Harper...............................................................................................................Nicole Gawel Mortimer Brewster.................................................................................................. Michael Jeske Mr. Gibbs...........................................................................................................................John Plaski Jonathan Brewster................................................................................................Joshua McNeill Dr. Einstein....................................................................................................................Sam Hanson Officer O’Hara.................................................................................................. Kerruan Sheppard Lieutenant Rooney..................................................................................................Toriean Lever Mr. Witherspoon................................................................................................................Nick Prier Understudies Martha Brewster............................................................................................................Marah Nitz Elaine Harper............................................................................................................ Taylor Rickaby P R O D U C T I O N S TA F F Director.................................................................................................................... Tanya Tranberg Set Construction...................................................................................................... Bruce Schram Lights and Sound..................................................................................................Ben Hillesheim Stage Manager..................................................................................................... Bethany Kneser Ticket Sales.............................................................................. Sharon Kneser and Karen Filter Poster ......................................................................................................................Gail Wittenburg Set Design.................................................................................................................. Bruce Schram Set Painting.............................................................................................................Lineea Hanson Sign Painting................................................................................................................... Shelly Sink Costumes......................................................................................................................... April Tellier Props..........................................................................................................................Lineea Hanson Make-up/Hair Design................................................................................................Katie Krause Logo.........................................................................................................................Gail Wittenburg T-shirts.....................................................................................................................Gail Wittenburg Acting Coach............................................................................................................Michael Skocir Original Music...........................................................................................Matthew Zembrowski Special thanks....................................................................................WLC Theatre Department

Hallman Lindsay Quality Paints

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CREWS Casting....................................................................................Mike Matusin, Gretchen Schram,

Michael Skocir, Tanya Tranberg and Sharon Quinn PA Crew..................................................................................... Ryan George, Troy Haefemeyer,

Ashley Kreuser, AJ Krueger,

Leah Radde, Joel Sontag and Sam Unnasch Make-Up Crew............................................ Shawna Abbott, Leah Gawel, Heather Hellyer,

Kelli Krause, Kaila Spath, and Tara Strook Stage Crew....................................................................................................... Katie Chworowsky,

Trevor Henne, and Josh Koerner Publicity.......................................................... Cheyane Hochschild and Kerruan Sheppard Set Construction Crew........................................ Arnold Buckley, Katherine Chworowsky,

Jared Eisenhauer, Grant Fugate, Sam Hanson,

Ben Haferman, Christopher Haferman, Trevor Henne,

Elizabeth Johnson, Glenn Mannisto, Daniel Meyer,

Ray Stamm, and Jonathan Stamm Ushers..........................................................................................Zsaena Venable, Alex McDade,

Katie Tully, Jazmin Ramos, and Melissa Zimmer

BIOGR APHIES Jacob Besler (Teddy Brewster) Jacob Besler is a junior and is enjoying his second time acting at Wisco. He absolutely loves being Teddy; whether sounding a blast on his bugle or going off to Panama, it’s a fun role that he works hard to ham up. In addition to acting, Jacob also likes to read, play video games, and sketch. Jacob has had a lot of fun in this production, and he looks forward to acting next year as well.

Lydia Buske (Martha Brewster) As a senior, this is Lydia’s fourth production on the WLHS stage.

Previously, she has performed in “The Mouse That Roared,” “You Can’t Take It with You,” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Lydia loves music and theater. Her favorite line in this year’s production is “Charge!” She would like to thank her family for all of the love and support they have given her, and the cast of this year’s production for being so much fun to work with.

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Nicole Gawel (Elaine Harper) Nicole is in her junior year at Wisconsin Lutheran High School. Last year she played Alice Sycamore in “You Can’t Take It With You”. Now she is playing Elaine Harper. Nicole has enjoyed playing Elaine because she has a very different personality in comparison to Alice. She has enjoyed working with everybody in the cast. Her favorite scene to do is the one where she is almost killed. Nicole is also involved in Jubilation, Inspiration, and Drama Club.

Nicole would like to say thank you to her mom and grandparents for running her to practices and for being very supportive during this busy time.

Andrew Hahm (Officer Klein) Andrew Hahm is a sophomore this year at Wisconsin Lutheran High School. He was a member of the stage crew for last year’s fall drama, making this his first time acting on the Wisco stage. He is very excited to get a part in the production and is looking forward to performing in front of his first high school audience.

He would like to give special thanks to his mother, who has been very

B I O G R A P H I E S ( c o n t .) supportive of him throughout all his theatrical endeavors in both grade school and high school.

Grace Hanson (Abby Brewster) Abby Brewster is not what she seems, and Grace Hanson totally connects with her on that. However, Grace does not see being in the theater as a chore.

She has quite a resume already, but her goals are New York and Juilliard.

To date, Grace has appeared in school productions of Willie Wonka, The Pied Piper, and a WLC production of The Man Who Came to Dinner. Grace is very happy to be a part of the Wisco family and to have such an excellent education in front of her. Thank you to everyone who believed in me so far!

Sam Hanson (Dr. Einstein) Sam Hanson is new to Wisco, but not to the stage. Most recently, Sam played Mike Teavee in his school’s production of Willie Wonka. The choice of Arsenic and Old Lace for the fall drama, Sam saw as God’s way of saying: “Welcome to Wisco!” It is Sam’s favorite old movie.

The character of Dr. Einstein is creepy without being truly evil which appeals to him. Sam also appreciated that while he is getting to work with some friends he has known for many years, he has also made some very good, new friends in this production. God’s ways are always good! Let’s have fun.

Michael Jeske (Mortimer Brewster) This show marks Michael’s seventh Wisco production. Past credits include “The Mouse That Roared,”“Crazy for You,”“Pride and Prejudice,” and “You Can’t Take It With You.” Michael regrets that this is his last fall play, but is determined to give a good show.

Winzel Kitzman-Kelly (Officer Brophy) Winzel has been a student at Wisconsin Lutheran High School for the past three years. He is involved in Wisco’s Robotics team, Inspiration, and a lot of other activities. He has

performed in one musical, “Beauty and the Beast.” This is his first fall drama.

Winzel enjoys playing police officer Brophy in this play.

Toriean Lever (Lieutenant Rooney) This will be Toriean’s 3rd play here at Wisconsin Lutheran High School.

Toriean enjoys playing basketball, playing video games, and just having fun. One interesting fact about Toriean is that he likes sweet tea with a dill pickle dipped into it. Hugs and kisses to his family. All of his love to his #1 fan, his mother, Portia.

Josh McNeill (Jonathan Brewster) This is Josh’s fourth and last year doing the drama. He has been everything from an aristocrat in “Pride and Prejudice” to a maniac. He is very excited to be playing Jonathan. Josh loves to get into the mind of his character, but fears that he likes it too much. His sincere hope is to chill everyone in the audience, but wants everyone to remember that it is only a role, and NOT how he is in real life. Josh wants to make mention of his Mom, Dad, and brother Jameson for all their support, and also to everyone who made his last drama special. He also states “To God be all the glory.”

Marah Nitz (Martha Brewster understudy) Marah is a Junior at WISCO. She works at The Ridge Cinema in New Berlin where she enjoys serving “pretzel giblets,”“pretzel rods in a basket” and “those salt nuggets” (all customers’ names for pretzel bites). She loves watching movies and Doctor Who— bow ties are cool. A special thanks goes out to the elderly woman at TrepArt who sold Marah her “character shoes”. A door collection will be taken following tonight’s performance to cover the cost of those character shoes. Just kidding!

As Marah says at the movie theater, “Enjoy the show.”

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B I O G R A P H I E S ( c o n t .)

John Plaski (Mr. Gibbs) This is John Plaski’s first year at Wisconsin Lutheran High School and this is his first performance. He enjoyed the whole drama process, along with percussion, swimming, and playing in the marching band during football games. God bless!

Nick Prier (Mr. Witherspoon) This is Nick’s first year and his first Wisco production. He enjoys the fact that everyone else has made mistakes so he doesn’t feel out of place. Nick also appreciates the patience everyone has for new-comers and that everyone in the cast during the rehearsals has been so friendly. Nick enjoys watching the Brewers and spending time with his brother and sister. Nick thanks his family for the support and encouragement.

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Taylor Rickaby (Understudy for Elaine Harper) This will be Taylor’s first play at Wisconsin Lutheran High School. She is a sophomore and is grateful that she is anyone’s understudy; she’s the understudy of her best friend, Nikki. She was so enthused about play practices after school every day. She loves her cast so much and is so grateful for them.

They have always been there when she needed them.“Thank you, guys!” She thinks everyone got the perfect role to suit them. She feels that this play will be one phenomenal play. (: thanks be to God.

!!!!!

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