Arsenic and Old Lace at Midvale Performing Arts Center

Hello blog readers! Did you miss me? Well, forgive me. I was busy having other adventures that I could use for blog material, and I didn't want to blog on vacation.

Thursday night, a few weeks ago, a huge group of friends and I went to support our darling friend, Larissa who was in "Arsenic and Old Lace" at the Midvale Performing Arts Center. We took up almost the whole row. Amy and her husband, Josh were there, as well as Dennis and I.

Dennis, Me, Amy, and Josh
Do you see that guy's face in the background?
I burst out laughing when I saw him!

Justina, Curtis, Kristen, and her friend, Sparky were there too.

Sparky, Kristen, Curtis, and Justina
I could have cropped this photo more, but Larissa's friend Xela is in it too in the upper right corner.
Also, I really liked the old lady in the background smiling and looking directly at the camera.

The set had so much detail. They really put a lot of thought into the house furnishings. I noticed that the set looked familiar. There was a window seat, two back entrances (one with a swinging door), a stage right entrance, a staircase...it looked just like the set we used at the Sugar Factory Playhouse in Miracle on 34th Street, when I played Doris! 

That's because when they tore down the Sugar Factory, they brought a lot of set and prop pieces over to the Midvale Performing Arts Center. They had also used this same set when West Jordan Arts did See How They Run.

See all those hats by the door on the left hand side?
I noticed them right away, and figured they were from all the gentlemen the Barker sisters had poisoned...I was right!

Larissa was fantastic (as usual)! She lit up the stage from the moment she came on. She was completely adorable, and perfect for the role. It was fun to see her kiss someone on stage. She had several hilarious moments, when her friend, who played Mortimer tried to push her out the door, or physically pick her up.  I laughed each time he picked her up and carried her, and each time she dug her feet in, or went stiff.  Once she even impatiently drummed her fingers on his back!

At the end of the play, he picked her up in a princess carry and swung her around in a circle (I don't know what it's called, but I always told my daddy to carry me like a princess, and it basically meant that he carried me like Rhett Butler carries Scarlet O'Hara). The audience collectively gasped, because he seemed to lose his balance, with her in his arms. We all thought he was going to drop her.
 
I really enjoyed the performance of Catherine Nelson Bohman, who played Abby Brewster. She was so convincing as a cute, sweet, little old lady, and her lines flowed effortlessly from her. I was very surprised after the show, to see she was really quite young, and beautiful!

Dennis, Justina, Me, Catherine Bohman, and Amy

I have to be brutally honest, and say that the majority of the actors stumbled over their lines, as if it were a dress rehearsal, as if they weren't sure of what to say. I was shocked to see that so many of them had done several shows before, because some of them delivered their lines without any character, or vocal inflection. Some actors were VERY aware of the audience, and they even occasionally broke the fourth wall. At times it was almost like watching elementary-school-kids delivering their lines.

It was definitely a strange performance that night. There were several mishaps (some covered well by the actors, and some taken to the extreme by hamming it up even more). At one point, one actor who was supposed to have exited, kept coming back in again, and again for another joke and another laugh. I turned to Dennis and said, "What in the HELL is going on with this play?" 

While I found it funny as an audience member, I found it extremely unprofessional as an actor. The audience was laughing hard, as were some of the actors, who broke character. It just goes to show that you never know WHAT will happen in live theatre.

Luckily, the story line is plenty engaging, even with straight-faced, monotone line delivery. And with the physical comedy and a few shining stars, this production still had us rolling in the aisles. You can pretty much guarantee that Larissa will be excellent in any show she participates in, and she did not disappoint.  

Larissa, and two of her cast mates during the curtain call

I was hoping Larissa would have come out in her costume, but she wasn't allowed.

I just threw this in there because I like the angular style. Curtis took this one. VOGUE.