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Arsenic and Old Lace Debuts at Aven Little Theater


Legendary actor Cary Grant was the big star of the 1944 movie “Arsenic and Old Lace.”

The cast of Mississippi College students in MC’s version of the popular American comedy probably won’t match Grant’s famous Hollywood performance. But count on a show that will trigger lots of laughs at the Aven Little Theater on the Clinton campus.

The MC Tribal Players and Department of Communication are teaming up to present “Arsenic and Old Lace” October 21-24. Show times are 7 p.m. on Oct. 21, 22 and 23 and 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 24.

Communication professor Sandra Grayson is the show’s director, with rehearsals going full blast in late September and early October.

“I chose to direct Arsenic and Old Lace because it is a solid fun play that brings a smile to faces of all ages,” Grayson says.

Written in 1939 by Joseph Kesselring, the comedy tells the story of a drama critic who learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs. These two aging spinster sisters run a boarding house and attempt to deal with a rather nutty family blood line. At that point, in steps their nephew Mortimer Brewster (the Cary Grant character), and utter confusion rules the evening.

The movie version was directed by famed director Frank Capra.

In the Mississippi College production, MC student Ethan Simpson of Southaven plays Mortimer Brewster, while Tricia Pate of VanCleve and Lauran Hester of Tupelo play the two sisters.

Serving as student co-directors are: Melissa Easley of Carriere, Miss. and Cori Rowe of Clinton.  Easley is a senior working on a degree in communication and this show is her third time working with Grayson. Rowe is a senior art major and theatre minor hoping to work with the Walt Disney Company after graduation.

Ticket prices are $5 for students and senior adults and $7 for general admission. For reservations call the MC Tribal Players at 601.925.3935.