Lake Pend Oreille Repertory Theatre brings ‘hysterical’ ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ to Panida Theatre

Director Tim Bangle doesn’t like to work on shows that he’s already familiar with. And, save for a production of “A Christmas Carol” last Christmas, his streak is still going strong.

So when the artistic director of Lake Pend Oreille Repertory Theatre was asked to direct “Arsenic and Old Lace,” he did what he always does and started with the script.

On his first read through, he simply enjoys the story. On his second read through, he starts formulating a concept for what the show will look like.

“This particular show has been done over and over and over again, and the setting doesn’t change. It’s done in the house,” he said. “I was trying to find a way that would make it exciting for me and something different for my local community. This is my third show (with Lake Pend Oreille Repertory Theatre), and I’ve tried to provide unique spins on every story that I’ve directed.”

For “Arsenic and Old Lace,” Bangle decided to produce the show in black and white. The actors will perform with standard makeup, but the set and costumes will be various shades of gray to complete the monochrome effect.

The only characters who wear color are those who elderly sisters Abby and Martha Brewster want to help with their unusual brand of charity work.

A filmmaker when not in the theater, Bangle sees his theatrical productions with a cinematic eye. As such, he tries to build the story and metaphor within the visuals of the stage. Some cast members were initially unsure about the decision to work in a world of black and white, but Bangle’s confident it will all make sense when they, and audiences, see the set.

Because the characters are fairly odd, or “borderline crazy,” as Bangle puts it, what initially appears to be your average home will hint at an insane asylum, complete with padded walls.

The play centers around the maniacal Brewster family. Sisters Abby (Kate McAlister) and Martha (Dorothy Prophet) live in the family home in Brooklyn with their nephews Teddy (Steven Hammond), who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt, and Mortimer (Eric Bond), a theater critic who hates theater. Mortimer is dating Elaine Harper (Tobey Jensen), the daughter of the minister who lives next door to the Brewster family.

There was once another Brewster brother, Jonathan (Cory Repass), but he hasn’t been heard from since he left home years ago.

Mortimer proposes to Elaine but is worried he will follow in his crazy family’s footsteps. After Elaine leaves the house, Mortimer finds a dead body hidden in a window seat. He’s shocked when his aunts confess to killing the man themselves.

The Brewster sisters have made it a hobby to kill lonely men, 12 in total at the time, with a homemade concoction. To get rid of the bodies, the sisters have Teddy dig graves in the cellar, convinced the men have died of yellow fever and that he’s digging locks for the Panama Canal.

A horrified Mortimer decides to break off his engagement. Later, Jonathan returns home having, it turns out, escaped from prison in Indiana. With him is Dr. Herman Einstein (Cody Bost), who has helped Jonathan conceal his identity through plastic surgery.

The pair are looking for a place to put a body of their own, but how many bodies can one house hold?

“Arsenic and Old Lace,” which was written by Joseph Kesselring, also stars Terry Owens, Angel Rogers, Michael Richardson, Alex Jones, Scott Gossett, Nikki Luttman and Andrew Sorg.

The play opens Friday and runs through Nov. 2 at the Panida Theatre in Sandpoint.

The show has required a few interesting educational moments for the actors: What’s the best way to tie a person to a chair? What’s the best way to move a body from a window seat?

Bangle said the knot-tying practice was necessary because urgency is required in the scene. The person being tied down can’t have any time to escape and fight back, so the actors doing the knot tying must have quick hands.

As for the dead body, Rory Markel, the show’s microphone technician, will be able to add that role to her resume. The cast will practice moving her once they move rehearsals to the Panida Theatre, but Bangle said she is petite enough that she’ll be able to fit in the window seat and be carried by the actors.

Though often billed as a farcical dark comedy, Bangle has approached his production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” as if everything the Brewster family does is coming from a place of sincerity.

“For me, that’s what makes it funny,” Bangle said. “During auditions, the thing that I look for as a director is ‘Can the actor maintain the character even when they’re not talking?’ ”

The Brewster sisters don’t think they’re doing anything wrong with their charity work, Bangle said, and would happily show off their collection of bodies in the cellar. Playing that seriously is where the humor of the show comes from, humor Bangle hopes audiences can use as a distraction from their daily lives.

“There’s a lot of tension and stress in the world right now, and the show is just hysterical,” he said. “It’s a good outlet to laugh and watch this weird family and the many relationships that are in the story, to let go of the troubles of the world for a couple hours.”