Essay Sample about Arsenic and Old Lace

Arsenic and Old Lace is an enthralling play that I watched on the 12th of November.  It took place in the Grace Hu Theaters of Whitney High School and was produced by Ms. Improta.  The play portrayed a humorous and thrilling historical fiction that took place during World War II.  The beguiling play had an immense effort in acting, directing, and the technical aspects to make the play such a success.

From the beginning to the end, the actors and actresses always stayed in character.  It was as if they were with one with the character itself.  Every word flowed smoothly and the improvisation of Mortimer’s handkerchief that kept on falling because of his mask when it was supposed to cover his mouth was quite humorous.  I could hear the enthusiasm and emotions from their tone and the way of speaking.  However, I could not quite hear some of their speeches since they spoke too fast or rather the cast mumbled.  Some relationships were realistic; whereas, the others I thought were from a typical fictional 1900s book.  A characteristic that stood out to me was when Abby Brewster And Martha Brewster casually told Mortimer and the policemen about the thirteen dead bodies in the cellar.  It was hilarious and the facial expressions on the cast of confusion and bewilderment was quite entertaining.  

Undoubtedly, for the play to play without a hitch, the directing must be well sought out.  I have never been to a play and was very glad to experience my first play with the Arsenic and Old Lace.  The actors and actresses portrayed the characteristics of their roles very clearly and felt as if I could be viewed at the age of seven and up.  I did not inspect any blocking throughout the show and I could see the great effort given within the show.  The comedic scenes were really entertaining and the dramatic scenes were quite intense and intriguing.   The pace was very much effective since it increases the tension and other emotions reflecting off the scene.  

Furthermore, the tiniest details enhance the technical aspects of the show.  When the lighting had different shades of colors or when it dimmed down a bit set a certain mood to the setting.  When I was first introduced to the set that was going to be played for the show, I was quite impressed with the interior designs.  It felt as if it was a real house in the 1900s with a touch of a cozy feeling coming from the ornamental designs.  As I ventured further into the backstage of the set, it was quite clever to have stairs as an entrance or an exit.  The layout made it seem so that there was no such thing as backstage of the show.  The ornamental dresses and clothes were set well with the time period during World War II.  However, the funeral dresses seemed to look more in the present rather than in the 1900s.  Moreover, the make-up looked as if it were from the 1900s, especially Elaine Harper’s.

From my experience, it was a spectacular play and I am sincerely grateful that I got to watch the Arsenic and Old Lace as my first ever play to watch.  I was pleasantly surprised by such great acting and comedy I have experienced as I viewed it.